Joy knew Irene would be popular with her goddess looks, but she didn’t expect the older girl to be this popular. Within 5 minutes of entering the ballroom, Song Mino from Song Corps and Kim Suho from Kim Enterprises had tried to approach the older girl, obviously hitting on her. But all Irene did was to hold up their entwined hands and announce, “She’s my girlfriend.”

The two left sheepishly and Joy couldn’t help but sneered at them while fireworks were going off inside her. Joy knew they were together, but when Irene announced it out loud, she just felt her heart throb with pride. That’s right ers, I’m Bae Joohyun’s girlfriend and you better throw away any thoughts of being together with her or getting into her pants now.

The two were standing at an empty table now, waiting for Seulgi and Wendy to make their appearance. Joy watched as Irene grabbed a cup of champagne from a waiter, and the younger girl did the same. Before she even placed the cup against , Irene pulled it away from her, raising an eyebrow at her. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I’m 18 already, Unnie.” Joy rolled her eyes.

“But still no.” Irene said adamantly, forcefully replacing the cup of champagne Joy was holding with a cup of sparkling juice.

Joy pouted. “You are such a killjoy.”

Irene laughed and pinched Joy’s cheeks. “I will never be able to kill you. You are too cute.”

Joy showed a sarcastic smile, but her eyes turned into crescents as her smile turned into a sincere one as she stared at something behind Irene. The older girl turned around to see Seulgi and Wendy making their way into the ballroom, linking arms. The two had on a motherly smile as they watched the other people get surprised by Seulgi’s (and her partner’s) appearance and rushed forward to offer their greetings to the girl. They only made their way to where Irene and Joy were after a good whole 10 minutes although it was only a 50 meters distance from the door to their table.

Irene pushed two cups of champagne towards the couple. “Well, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Seulgi gulped down her champagne furiously and shrugged as a response. Placing her empty cup back down on the table, she watched as Seungyoon stormed towards them, towards her to be specific. “Well, here comes the hard part.”

Standing right in front of Seulgi, Seungyoon seemed to be smiling at her but he made sure to whisper so that his words were only audible to them. “You lil , how dare you make an appearance here.”

Seulgi laughed and hit Seungyoon as if he just told her a joke. “If I didn’t recall wrongly, you were the one who invited me.”

“Get out of this place now.” Seungyoon warned.

“Seulgi?” Someone called out from behind Seungyoon, and he immediately whirled around, a smile on his face as if he hadn’t just threatened his younger sister a second ago. “Oh it’s really you? It’s been so long! And you have grown so tall and become so beautiful!” The man praised; his attention all on Seulgi.

“Soo Man samchon, I’m afraid Seulgi isn’t feeling well and have to leave right now, I’m so sorry.” Seungyoon voiced out apologetically.

“Nice to meet you Soo Man samchon!” Seulgi greeted, ignoring Seungyoon. “I’m sorry for my oppa, he’s just so paranoid. I actually just recovered from a fever so he’s worried that I’m over-pushing my limits too much so he wants me to rest as much as I can, right, Oppa?” Seulgi said, a hidden meaning behind her words.

“Yes of course! I can’t let my dearest little sister get sick again when she just recovered!” Seungyoon said, patting the said girl on her head.

“I’m glad to see the two of you getting along well. And who is this beautiful lady beside you?” The man asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Seulgi smiled, taking one of Wendy’s hands in her own. “She’s my girlfriend.”

Wendy blushed and tried to cover her face while the man laughed. “Look how well you have grown up, getting yourself a partner already and all… Come with me, I will introduce you to the other samchons. They will be glad to see you again.”

--

Only a few guests were left in the ballroom now and Seulgi and Wendy finally got a breather from meeting all the other businessmen. Wendy held onto Seulgi’s arms as she lifted her leg to look at the blister that was forming because of the heels. She winced again as she placed the foot down on the floor, applying pressure on it.

“Are you okay?” Seulgi’s voice rang out, concern evident.

“Yeah.”

Not satisfied at Wendy’s answer, Seulgi bent down to check on the former’s leg herself. Grimacing at the blister forming on her feet, she stood up and stared incredulously at Wendy as she pointed at the former’s foot. “You call this okay?!”

“I will be fine after applying some medication and putting on some plasters.” Wendy said sheepishly, scratching her head.

Seulgi bent down to take off her shoes, before back-facing Wendy in a squatting position. Looking at Wendy, the bear pointed at her back, gesturing for the snowman to climb onto her back. “No, it’s okay, I can walk by myself.”

“Are you getting on, or do I have to carry you bridal style?” Seulgi asked, not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Wendy huffed and jumped onto Seulgi’s back reluctantly. Seulgi shifted Wendy, adjusting to the weight. “Good girl.”

They were stopped by Seungyoon at the door. “What a sweet display of love.” Seungyoon sneered.

“It’s something you will never understand, sadly.” Seulgi mocked.

Now that there were lesser people around, the two could finally throw away the pretense of being close and insult each other freely.

“Don’t come for any other company functions ever again.” Seungyoon warned. “Or else I’m really not going to let you go so easily the next time round.”
 

Seulgi laughed. “Oh my dear oppa, do you not realize that all this time, I’m the one holding the trump card? You have the company not because you deserve it, but because I didn’t fight with you for it. The one who has more, has more to lose. If you want to play with me, you will be the one who comes out losing more. Remember that and be on your toes.”

Seulgi turned and left, leaving a dumbfounded and speechless Seungyoon behind.

--

Seulgi was silent as she applied medicine on Wendy’s feet. Although she had seemingly won the argument with Seungyoon, Seulgi still seemed very subdued, as if she was the one who had lost the argument. Wendy was worried. She knew no matter how well Seulgi seemed to have handled her annoying brother; the bear will still be affected by her brother’s harsh words. Holding Seulgi by the chin and tilting her head up so that she could look at her, Wendy said gently, “Talk to me.”

Seulgi turned back down to attend to Wendy’s injuries and the latter thought she wouldn’t be getting an answer. “I was bluffing just now. I have everything to lose if he ever comes and fights with me. I have something that is so important to me that I will protect with everything I have, my life even.”

"What is it?" Wendy asked, and she could see the doubt in Seulgi's eyes, before the bear averted her gaze. 

"You." The bear mumbled, face bowing even lower, her hair falling down like a curtain, covering her face from Wendy's view. Wendy couldn't believe her ears, she didn't... she didn't know, couldn't imagine that she actually meant so much to Seulgi. Cupping Seulgi’s face tenderly, Wendy pushed the former's face up so that they were making eye contact. “Pabo bear, what can he do to me.”

Seulgi placed a hand over Wendy’s. “You don’t know him, Wan-ah, but I do. Kang Seungyoon is a man who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. And with my direct provocation just now, I’m sure he will get back at me even harder.”

“Well I have you to protect me right? And you have me to protect you. So we will both be safe from him with each other.”

Seulgi finally showed a sincere smile, her eyes turning into crescents as she squeezed Wendy’s hand. “That’s right. So are we still… you know, like, together?” Seulgi asked, voice quivering.

Wendy laughed. “Were we even apart in the first place?”

Seulgi’s smile got even bigger, if that was even possible. 

A/N: sorry for the long wait again omg

this is so cringe worthy asdfghjkl

lots of foreshadowing in this chapter /evil smirks/

i hoped this chapter showed how different seul views wendy as compared to other girls cos bear is really serious af about sonlaf. /squeals at the "You." part/

p.s show champion's video ytd killed me: seul putting her arm over wendy, then holding her hands homg.