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Seulgi is spinning idly in her swivel chair on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. Business is slow today, and she toys with the idea of closing her studio early – not now, but as early as before sunset in a few hours. Heck, she’d close it right now and go find her friends if they all weren’t working too.

Then she hears the door open, and she has to grip the edge of her desk to stop spinning. Blinking her dizziness away, she fixes her stare at the person in front of her. This customer, looking all prim and proper, has walked into her studio in an expensive-looking gray blazer over a white button-up shirt, black pants and red high heels, and even with her still-blurry vision Seulgi can see that this girl is overdressed. Overdressed for someone who wants to get a tattoo, overdressed to walk anywhere around this mountain town.

(Also, she’s really pretty. Seulgi almost feels scared at the thought of tainting this walking elegance that just entered her modest studio with permanent ink.)

“Hello,” the customer greets in a velvety voice. “I’d like to get my first tattoo.”

No , Sherlock. “Hi, what kind of tattoo would you like to get? Do you have anything in mind?” Seulgi walks around her desk and gestures at the walls, where countless tattoo designs are displayed.

The other girl’s gaze shift everywhere to get a look at them, and she frowns in confusion. Seulgi actually expects the other girl to tell her exactly what she wants right away (because something about that blazer just screams I’m on a mission somehow) but it seems like she’s just as puzzled as half the first-timers that have come here.

She bites her lip before turning to the tattoo artist. “I’m actually not sure.” Her fingers fidget nervously with the strap of her red handbag.

Seulgi smiles warmly at her, and attempts to make the other girl feel comfortable because clearly, she’s feeling out of her element. “First-timers usually ask for something safe,” she gestures at her guest to sit down. “You know, like a little butterfly, flowers, hearts. Random cute or basic stuff. Either that, or something symbolic.” She takes a seat in her swivel chair again.

The customer sits down in the chair opposite her, over the desk. “Symbolic?”

“Yeah, something sentimental, for example,” Seulgi tells her. “Certain initials, certain dates, certain things that mean something to them.”

That brings a smile to the other girl’s pretty face. “That makes sense. Do they tell you what they mean?”

“Not always,” Seulgi shrugs and crosses her legs, leaning comfortably on her chair. “But it helps when they do. I get to really go all-out with my ideas and suggestions for the design.”

“Because you know what the tattoo represents and how they feel about it.”

“Correct. Except for when the design they’re asking for is related to Satanism, and in that case I’d rather not know,” Seulgi leans forward. “So, what will it be? Is there a special someone, perhaps? I can get their name tattooed on you.” This is one of her ways of finding out if her customers are available or taken. For reasons.

(Not that she’d try anything with this one – she’s obviously out of her league.)

The other girl blinks at the casual mention of Satanism and snorts slightly at her question – but even then she still exudes that graceful charm. “No, not at all.”

Seulgi chuckles in response. “Okay, so are we going for something safe?”

Unexpectedly, the customer stands up. “I might need more time to think about it. I’ll come back later.”

Seulgi feels a slight twinge of disappointment, but she keeps the smile on her face. “Alright, take your time.”

The customer nods at her. “See you soon.” And with that, she walks out of the studio.

Seulgi doesn’t think she’ll see her again (did she just scare her off?) so she doesn’t bother stopping her and asking for her name. Besides, that girl is too pretty for her anyway, probably a model from the city or an idol or something, so she doesn’t have a chance with her right?

Right?

---

The next day is busier than the day before, so she doesn’t get the chance to spin in her chair out of boredom again. She does, however, feel slightly sleepy from the lack of decent sleep last night (midnight karaoke session with Wendy and Krystal – never again except on weekends) and is about to doze off on her desk when she hears the door open again. She blinks away her sleepiness to greet her seventh customer that day, and does a double take when she sees the pretty girl from yesterday.

“Hello there,” the customer greets her. She isn’t as overdressed now that she’s wearing a striped blouse, blue skinny jeans, and flats. Even her smile looks warmer and friendlier, “I was gonna get my tattoo last night but you closed early.”

“Oh, yeah, I went out with – never mind,” Seulgi said, and gestures at her to sit down, sleepiness gone in an instant. “I can’t believe you actually came back.”

The other girl sits down in front of her and grins. “Didn’t I say I’d see you soon?” She looks comfortable this time, despite looking slightly out of place somehow. It must be her striking good looks, or her aura, or something.

The combination of that grin and the smell of her perfume right now is kind of making it hard for Seulgi not to get reduced into a mumbling fool, but at least now she’s fully awake again.

“Have you decided on a tattoo yet?” Seulgi asks her.

“I actually have,” the customer leans back comfortably. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Seulgi. I didn’t realize you wanted to have my name tattooed.”

The other girl gapes at her for a second and lets out a laugh. “Well, aren’t you a smooth one.”

Seulgi only grins at that, while her head is screaming at her to stop. embarrassing. yourself. right now. It is almost like a reflex to her at this point, to tease and flirt with her customers like that, which sometimes results in a little something more, but this time Seulgi’s pretty sure they’re not gonna end up like that.

(Like, she is good with her game – at least she’d like to think so – but not that good. She gotta be realistic here.)

“Well, my name is Seulgi. What’s yours?”

“I know, you almost tattooed that on me. I’m Irene.”

“Irene,” Seulgi repeats her name, feeling it roll off her tongue. It feels foreign, but she likes it. She wants to say it all the time. “Nice to meet you, Irene. What kind of tattoo would you like to get?”

“A rabbit tattoo.”

“Like Playboy? That’s quite a popular choice.”

Irene makes a face. “No, just…just a regular rabit. And make it cute.”

“Does this fall under the ‘safe’ category or ‘sentimental’ category?”

There’s a distant, sad look that flashes on her face before she answers. “My mother used to tell me I reminded her of a rabbit. So it’s kinda stuck with me.”

Seulgi nods. “Alright.” She has a feeling Irene’s mother isn’t around to tell her that anymore, but she doesn’t need to get it out of her. She just needs to give her the best rabbit tattoo she can produce.

Seulgi gathers her sample rabbit tattoo designs and makes various quick sketches for Irene to choose from. After they’re done discussing the procedures and the design, Seulgi creates the stencil from the design they’ve agreed on. Irene completes the paperwork and payment and they move into another room where Irene finally sits on The Chair (Seulgi likes to spell it that way in her head, with the capitals T and C). She hesitantly pulls up her shirt to reveal her waist area, as the tattoo is going to be placed a few centimeters above the protruding hip bone.

Irene watches as Seulgi cleans the skin by rubbing alcohol on it. Seulgi grins at her. “Don’t be so tense.”

Irene lets out a huff. “I’m ready.”

After shaving any smooth hair that might be there and applying moistening cream on her skin, Seulgi gently presses down the stencil transfer on the spot they’ve agreed on. She pulls back the paper after a few more seconds and the bluish outline of her design is visible on Irene’s pale skin.

“Whoa,” Irene looks down to get a better look at it.

“It’s just the outline, and it’s not even inked yet” Seulgi begins putting on a pair of latex gloves.

Seulgi starts pouring the ink into the ink caps. They’ve agreed on a tiny gray rabbit tattoo, so she prepares the necessary colors for outlining, coloring and shading. Irene gulps as Seulgi prepares a new set of needles and insert them into the tattoo machine.

After a few more steps, Seulgi finally starts the machine, ready to create the outline of the tattoo. Irene’s eyes widen instantly at the ominous buzzing sound it produces. “Holy .” She jerks sideways slightly, looking more than a little terrified.

(So Irene isn’t so prim and proper after all, and for some reason this fact thrills her very much.)

Seulgi smiles reassuringly and puts a gloved hand on top of the area she’s about to work on. “Just relax, okay? Just look at me. I’ll talk you through it if you want me to.”

Irene eyes the machine warily before shifting her gaze towards Seulgi’s face and nods meekly. “Okay.”

Seulgi brings the needles closer to the skin. “Don’t let the noise bother you, just imagine yourself in a dentist’s office.”

The other girl rolls her eyes. “Yeah, because that will make me feel better,” she drawls. And Seulgi decides she really, really likes the sound of her voice.

She has to restrain herself from laughing out loud at that. “I’m gonna draw the outline now, okay?” She waits until Irene nod and starts working on outlining the rabbit illustration with black ink.

Irene’s breath hitches and Seulgi can feel the other girl’s abdominal muscles tense up at the first contact with the needles, but she’s relieved that at least Irene doesn’t start screaming or fainting like so many other first-timers. A few seconds later after a few lines has been drawn, Seulgi retracts the machine to remove the seeping blood on Irene’s skin with a cotton swab, and finds that the other girl is still staring at her. She looks calmer now, although her face is still a little pale (although she is already pale-looking in the first place).

Seulgi gives her a reassuring smile before starting she continues outlining the design. “So, why now?” she starts the conversation and keeps her hand steady. “Why get a tattoo?”

“I’m going on a trip soon,” Irene says. “And my plan is to get a tattoo in every country that I’m going to visit.” She speaks quickly, breathing shallowly in between sentences to avoid moving her abdominal area so much.

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Where are you going?”

“Around Central Europe, and since I don’t want to possibly get hysterical in a tattoo studio where they can barely understand me, I decided to get my first tattoo here.”

Seulgi retracts the machine again and looks at her. “I thought a girl like you would get her first tattoo in a fancy studio somewhere in Seoul.”

“I’m from Seoul, but I was born here actually,” Irene smiles at her. “Appropriate, don’t you think? It’s the starting point. And what exactly did you mean by ‘a girl like me’, anyway?”

Seulgi hears the teasing tone in the other girl’s voice and grins sheepishly. “You don’t happen to be an idol, do you?” She wipes her skin again. The outline is almost done.

“No,” the teasing tone is still present.

“Actress?”

Irene laughs and shakes her head again. “Seulgi, no. I don’t work in the entertainment industry.”

Seulgi grins at her again before starting the machine, drawing the final lines to complete the outlining process. She notices how Irene isn’t even fazed at the implication of Seulgi’s questions just now. It must be a normal occurrence for her to have other people fawn over her beauty.

“So is this like a solo, soul-searching trip or are you going with family or friends?” Seulgi asks her.

“I’m going by myself,” Irene tells her. “Although, I was supposed to go with a fiancé, actually.”

It is a little too much information for Seulgi to process and trust herself with a set of needles in another person’s skin at the same time, so she retracts the machine after drawing another line. “You’re engaged?” She barely keeps the surprise out of her voice.

(But, really, why should she be surprised? Why wouldn’t a charming, beautiful girl like Irene have a – a fiancé?)

Irene smiles smugly at her, seemingly satisfied she managed to catch her off-guard. “I was. But then I found out he’d been cheating on me with someone else, so…” She trails off and shrugs nonchalantly.

“Ouch. That, uh, that must have . Sorry,” Seulgi replies awkwardly and continues drawing the outline.

Irene chuckles. “Yeah, it . But I don’t lose sleep over it anymore. So I’ll go on that trip and get tattoos instead.”

(Okay, Seulgi likes her. Seulgi likes her a lot.)

The outline is complete, giving Irene a chance to take a breather as Seulgi replaces the needles. Irene visibly relaxes in her seat and Seulgi smiles at the sight. She really was that tense earlier.

“Well that wasn’t so bad,” Irene sighs.

“See? Outlining is usually the most painful part of the process, and you got through it just fine.”

“Yay,” Irene beams at her. “I can get used to this.”

The buzzing sound starts again. “Slow down, you don’t wanna get tattoos that you’ll regret,” Seulgi smiles at her. “I’m gonna start coloring it.”

Irene relaxes throughout the remaining process, since it’s not as painful as outlining. They talk some more, and after some more prying Seulgi finds out that Irene actually is an heiress of a big time real estate company in the country. Which sort of explains her appearance. Everything about her screams expensive, and charming, and really pretty, and Seulgi can’t afford her.

(Confirmed: She is so out of Seulgi’s league.)

“And…we’re done.” Seulgi retracts the tattoo machine and wipes the finished tattoo one last time.

Irene looks down to get a better look at her very first tattoo. It is a small illustration of a rabbit, colored grey with all the appropriate shading here and there. The skin around it is still a bit red from the invasion, contrasting with the pale, untouched skin.

“This looks really nice!” Irene beams at her.

“You sound surprised,” Seulgi chuckles. Then she applies a layer of protective ointment on the tattoo and prepares a bandage. “I’m gonna tape a bandage over it, do you wanna take a picture of it before that?”

Irene takes a quick picture of the new tattoo before letting her apply the bandage, and then Seulgi gives her all the necessary aftercare instructions. As Seulgi is washing her hands in the sink, she observes the other girl through the mirror, who is still admiring the picture of her very first tattoo with a smile on her face.

“I wish my mother could’ve seen it,” Irene says in a quiet voice.

Seulgi smiles at her through the mirror. “Uh, would I have gotten in trouble for giving her only daughter a tattoo?”

“How can anyone get mad over this, though? It’s so cute.”

“It’s badass.”

“Okay, it’s badass,” Irene grins. “Thanks, Seulgi.”

When Seulgi approaches her again, Irene has a couple of bills in her hand, which is extended towards her. Seulgi blinks. “You already paid.”

“This is a tip.”

“Oh. Thank you, but I don’t really take tips,” Seulgi takes a look at the money she’s being offered and raises an eyebrow. “You can actually get another tattoo with that.”

“Well, my next tattoo is waiting for me somewhere in Central Europe. Just take it.”

“No, thank you.”

Irene huffs. “Fine,” she shoves the money back inside her pocket. “But you owe me.”

Seulgi chuckles in disbelief. “I don’t get the money, but I owe you? How does that even work?”

“I don’t know, we’ll figure it out later,” Irene says, and her eyes twinkle. “See you soon.”

And with that, Irene walks out of her studio, leaving the tattoo artist dumbfounded.

She said see you soon again, and this time, Seulgi expects that to be true.

---

After a particularly busy day, Seulgi locks up her studio on a chilly Friday night. Not wanting to call it a day just yet, she considers dropping by the café right across the street to harass her best friend, who’s currently working on a late night shift. She also considers finding the rest of her friends at the bar, although she’s not sure if she’s in the mood for a lot of noise. It is a Friday night after all.

Her mind is busy weighing her options when she hears someone clears their throat behind her, and turns around to see Irene right in front of her studio. “Irene?” she only allows a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Hey there,” Irene greets her. This time she’s wearing a white blouse and a black skirt that stops just above her knees (doesn’t the cold bother her?) and Seulgi tries not to gawk at those pale, slim legs.

“You know, when you said soon, I didn’t think it’d be this soon,” Seulgi says nonchalantly, but her pounding heart betrays her voice. Lucky the other girl can’t hear it.

(Also, she didn’t spend the last two days constantly thinking about Irene, she really didn’t look out the front door every once in a while to see if she was around, and she certainly didn’t internally groan in disappointment everytime a customer entered and it wasn’t her.)

“Thought you could get rid of me that easily?” Irene grins, and Seulgi thinks she looks so pretty like this, face lit up by the colorful artificial lights from the shops. “You owe me, remember?”

Seulgi takes another step closer to the other girl and crosses her arms. “Uhuh. Okay. Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that I do owe you,” Seulgi tries to feign a serious look, but the corners of are threatening to tug upwards and now she thinks she must look really weird. “How would you like me to repay you?”

Irene crosses her arms as well, feigning the serious look much better than Seulgi, although her eyes still have that mischievous twinkle. “Maybe you could buy me a drink.”

Wait, what? “A drink, huh? I’d take you to the bar, but at this time it must be really, really crowded.”

“Crowded with who, ex-lovers?” Irene says in a teasing tone.

That catches her off-guard. “Whoa,” she chokes on air and lets out a cough. “Okay. Let’s get this straight, whoever told you I’ve slept with every girl in town, don’t trust them. Everything is exaggerated.”

Irene raises a perfectly-shaped eyebrow slowly. “My source only hinted that you go on a lot of dates with a lot of your customers, and she didn’t say which gender, but I think I like your suspiciously specific denial a whole lot better,” she smirks.

Seulgi wants to facepalm, but that will only look more incriminating. “People hint different things about me as some sort of a cruel prank. Who was this source of yours?”

“A little birdie right across the street,” Irene gestures at the café across the street.

“Wendy,” Seulgi rolls her eyes. “One of these days I’m gonna teach her a lesson.”

“Ooh, who is she? A bitter ex-girlfriend?” Irene lets out an exaggerated gasp.

“She’s my friend,” Seulgi tells her. “And an . Come on, I’ll just take you to my place, is that okay? I only got cheap gin and tonic, unless you need something stronger?”

(Wendy is, in fact, an ex-girlfriend, who eventually became one her best friends. But Irene doesn’t need to know that.)

“No, cheap gin and tonic would be fine. I’m not looking to get hammered right now,” Irene smiles. “Where’s this place of yours?”

She gestures at the studio. “I live above, come on. We’ll use the stairs at the side.”

Seulgi has brought a number of girls home (those rumors have a little truth to it after all), but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that she would bring home such beauty – who also happens to be an heiress – even if it’s just for a friendly chat and a drink.

“Uh…it’s small, and everything is a mess, sorry” Seulgi suddenly feels a little self-conscious once they’re inside her living space, which consists of a small living room, a small kitchen, a small bathroom, and a small bedroom, all adjacent to one another. “Please, sit down.” She gestures at the couch in the living room.

Irene sits down on her dull gray couch, looking strikingly out of place as she looks around. “This actually looks pretty cozy. You live alone?”

“Obviously.”

Irene hums. “Are you sure you don’t have a girl hiding somewhere in here?”

Seulgi rolls her eyes and walks over to the kitchen to prepare the drinks, leaving Irene to cackle by herself in the couch for a few seconds. Seulgi finds herself surprised at the sound of it and nearly loses it herself. She can’t believe she ever thought the girl was prim and proper.

“So, do you actually make satanic tattoos?” Irene asks casually, after her laughter subsides.

Seulgi nearly loses her grip on her bottle of tonic water. “Really? That’s the first thing you ask me about my job?”

“Well, I have the right to know if the person making my drink is a devil worshipper.”

“I’m not, and neither were those people who have asked me to give them those kind of tattoos,” Seulgi pours gin into the glasses. “I think.”

“What’s this?” She hears Irene ask again.

Seulgi takes her eyes off the drinks she’s preparing to turn her head and see what the other girl has found in the living room. “Oh, that’s my sketchbook.”

She can hear Irene turning the pages, and after a few pages she hears her say, “I’m seeing a lot of bears.”

Seulgi smiles at that. “It’s kind of my thing.”

“For sentimental reasons?”

“Not really, my friends say I kind of look like a cute bear, that’s all,” Seulgi brings two glasses of drinks to the living room and offers one to the other girl. “Here you go.”

Irene takes her glass, keeping a fixed stare on the other girl. “I can see it.”

Seulgi sits down beside her, and she can smell her perfume again. “See what?”

“A very cute bear,” Irene bumps her glass with Seulgi’s and raises her glass to her lips.

(Seulgi’s pretty sure she didn’t say very cute earlier. Or did she? She can’t think straight right now.)

“How long have you been a tattoo artist?” Irene crosses her legs in that skirt, and once again Seulgi tries not to openly stare at them.

“About three years now. How long have you been an heiress?”

“Oh, ha ha,” Irene rolls her eyes. Then her eyes scans Seulgi’s whole frame for a few seconds (she doesn’t even try to be subtle, and it puzzles Seulgi but then again she doesn’t really mind) before saying, “Aside from the name and the phone number that’s written on your arm, which I’m pretty sure isn’t a tattoo, I don’t see any tattoos.”

Seulgi raises her arm to glance at the phone number and the name (Joy♥) written on it. “Then maybe my tattoos are hidden somewhere you can’t see from where you’re sitting,” Seulgi winks at her.

(Seulgi thinks she sees Irene’s cheeks turn pink slightly before the latter hides behind her glass again, taking another sip.)

“Who’s Joy?” Irene asks. Her glass is almost empty now.

“A customer. She just got her second tattoo today,” Seulgi says. “How’s your tattoo?”

Without warning, Irene pulls up her shirt, revealing her pale abdominal area, and of course, the rabbit tattoo. “It’s not really itchy or hurting, which is good, right?”

Since Seulgi isn’t in her professional capacity as a tattoo artist right now, she feels a little nervous at the sudden skin exposure. “It looks fine, it’s not flaking so much,” she says, keeping her eyes trained strictly on the tattoo, and then back on her face again. “So…what are you still doing here? I thought you said you’re from Seoul.”

Irene covers herself again. “I’m staying at my grandparents’ for a few days,” Irene says. “They think I’m still crying a river over my ex-fiancé.”

“Your grandparents live around here?”

Irene nods. “I mentioned you to them. My grandma has heard of you,” Irene chuckles. “Apparently you have a bit of a reputation.”

Seulgi groans. “A huge part of it comes from the exaggerations by my own friends, can you believe that? Apparently they think it’s amusing.”

Irene snickers in response. “Relax, I don’t care about gossips,” she shifts her gaze towards Seulgi’s arm. “Although I’m starting to think maybe they’re a little true.”

“Joy has a boyfriend, so I don’t even flirt with her. She wrote it herself.”

Irene stares pointedly at Seulgi’s face for a moment before replying, “I don’t blame her,” she says behind her glass as she takes another sip. Seulgi catches herself before she could openly gape at her and averts her eyes to look down at the glass in her hand, feeling her face get hot.

(Seulgi usually has the upper hand in a game like this, but this time she’s not sure. Who’s counting the score, anyway?)

Irene puts down her empty glass on the coffee table as if nothing just happened. “Well, this has been really pleasant. Unfortunately my grandparents set a curfew for me like I’m still a fifteen year old.” She gets off the couch.

Seulgi follows suit, head still spinning, but not from the alcohol. “I’ll walk you home?”

“You don’t need to, my car is right across the street. But thanks for the offer,” Irene smiles sweetly at her, and Seulgi’s pretty sure she looks slightly pink right now, but she refuses to acknowledge it to the other girl.

They walk together to the door, and Seulgi opens it for her. “Now we’re even?”

“I guess,” Irene smiles at her. “See you again soon, Seulgi. Thanks for the drink”

They’re even now, but somehow Seulgi knows she’ll see her again. Soon.

---

Seulgi is walking a customer to the door to see her off on a Saturday afternoon when she spots Irene standing right outside her studio.

“Hey there,” Seulgi greets her, unintentionally ignoring the cute customer that’s waving goodbye at her right now (who walks away dejectedly afterwards.)

“Hey,” Irene looks like the way she did when Seulgi first saw her. This time she’s wearing a brown blazer over a black lacy shirt, dark pants, and red high heels. “My plane leaves in four hours.”

“Oh,” Seulgi feels her heart drop. Irene didn’t mention anything about leaving last night. “That trip to Europe, right? That’s exciting.”

“Yeah, it is. I’ll be gone for a few weeks.”

They stand there awkwardly on the sidewalk. Seulgi, in particular, doesn’t really know what to say, and is more than a little disappointed in the fact that she won’t be seeing her for the next few weeks. They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds before Seulgi seems to snap herself out of it and starts stammering, looking for something to say.

(After a few weeks, and then what? She’s not even sure Irene would come and visit her again. Would she really?)

“You’re, uh,” Seulgi spots a black BMW parked across the street. “That-that’s your car, huh? You’re leaving for the airport now?”

“Yes, otherwise I’ll miss my flight,” Irene smiles at her.

But I’ll miss you. “Okay,” Seulgi crosses her arms nervously and controls her features so she wouldn’t look too disappointed. “Goodbye, then.”

Irene lets out a short giggle, and as soon as it’s over Seulgi is already replaying it in her head. “That’s it? You’re not gonna tell me to have a nice trip or something?”

“Have a blast.”

“I appreciate it,” Irene grins, putting a hand on Seulgi’s shoulder. “See you later.”

She leans in and plants a kiss on Seulgi’s cheek before leaving her on the sidewalk.

A minute later, the BMW speeds off for the airport, leaving dusts flying and Seulgi standing on the sidewalk, incredibly flustered and rooted to the spot.

---

A little over three weeks have passed and Seulgi has learned to stop annoying her friends by rambling about the girl she misses so much whenever they got together. Wendy yelled at her to get a grip. Krystal snorted and laughed at her face. Sulli only patted her shoulder sympathetically. Sehun just stared at her. Jongin asked for Irene’s number, to which Seulgi only replied with “Go to hell.”

(Besides, it’s not like Seulgi has her number.)

But she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her, and it looks like Irene kept her in her thoughts too. A week after Irene had left, a postcard from Czech Republic arrived at her studio with no writing other than Irene’s name and signature. Then, just a couple of days ago, a postcard from Russia arrived, also with only her name and signature on it. Seulgi has tried every trick such as heating up her postcard above a lit candle, or illuminating them with an ultraviolet light, but no secret messages were found on the cards.

She is looking at the postcards again in her studio on an unsuspecting Sunday afternoon, when she hears someone knocking at the door, and nearly falls out of her chair when she sees Irene waving at her through the glass door. Keeping her face controlled, she rushes to the door and opens it.

“Kept you waiting, huh?” Irene says as a greeting, and Seulgi’s olfactory sense instantly picks up the smell of her perfume, and she gets a little lightheaded in all the right ways.

Seulgi always thinks vanilla is such a safe and basic fragrance, but she is loving it so much right now. “Hey there, you didn’t see the ‘Closed’ sign?” she says casually, allowing only a small smile on her face.

Irene rolls her eyes and laughs at her. “Seriously? Would it kill you to stop acting all cool and unaffected? It’s been a while, you know.” She playfully shoves the other girl on the shoulder. Seulgi nearly loses her balance because of the shove, but also because of the sight before her and the sound of Irene’s voice. She stares wordlessly at the other girl as she thinks of a reply, eyes drinking in every detail. Irene looks slightly more tanned and her hair is put up into a ponytail this time. Seulgi honestly didn’t think she could get any prettier but boy, was she wrong

“I think it might,” Seulgi’s smile gets wider now. “Besides, it’s only been, like, three weeks.”

Irene’s smile is so wide right now. “You’ve been counting.”

“Have not,” Seulgi mumbles, and steps aside to let the other girl come inside.

Irene walks into the studio, and before Seulgi can say or do anything she goes straight to sit in the chair comfortably like she has always belonged there, and Seulgi’s heart flutters at the thought. “If it’s closed then what are you doing down here?” Irene asks her.

“I was just cleaning up some stuff.” Seulgi walks around her desk to sit again in her chair, feeling like her legs can lose their strength any minute now.

Irene glances down at Seulgi’s desk, where the postcards she sent lay. “I can see that.” She snickers.

“Shut up, I really was cleaning,” Seulgi chuckles sheepishly and sits down. “Why didn’t you write anything on the cards, though?”

“Because I wanted tell you all about my trip in person. Those postcards were just to notify you that I was alive and well, and not eaten by an Eastern European vampire,” Irene smiles lazily at her. She doesn’t seem so out of place now, she looks like she has always been here.

“I thought you were in Central Europe.”

“I got a little sidetracked. I did send you a postcard from Russia, didn’t I?” Irene glances at her watch. “I can’t be here for long right now, my grandparents are expecting me. I’m just here to deliver the gifts I got for you.”

Seulgi looks over the desk. “I don’t see any gifts.”

“I already put them on your table upstairs, you didn’t lock your door. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, nice. Thank you,” Seulgi grins. “I don’t mind. Did my girls stay hidden in my bedroom or did they come out and greet you?”

Irene snorts at the joke. “By the way, what are you doing tonight?”

“Who knows? I never make plans that far ahead.”

“No appointment? No date? Maybe with that Joy, or some other girl who may or may not be hiding upstairs?”

“Nope,” Seulgi appears to be shaking her head nonchalantly, while her toes curl inside her shoes in anticipation and her heart pounds against her ribcage harder.

“Well,” Irene clears , looking nervous all of a sudden. “Can I take you out of town tonight? There’s this place just an hour from here that serves the best Korean barbeque.”

“Wow. Gifts, and barbeque dinner. You really know how to impress a girl,” Seulgi says teasingly, and now her heart feels like it can climb up in any minute now – but it’s anatomically impossible, so probably not.

Irene blushes slightly and huffs impatiently. “So is it a yes or a no?”

“Hell yes.”

Irene clears . “Perfect. I’ll pick you up at six, will that be okay?”

“Sure,” Seulgi leans forward and her eyes scan the other girl’s appearance. “I don’t see any Central or Eastern European tattoos.”

“Then maybe my tattoos are hidden somewhere you can’t see from where you’re sitting,” Irene winks at her.

Seulgi rolls her eyes at her own line being used on her. “Did you really get tattoos in every country you visited?”

Irene leans forward, and looks at her pointedly. “I’ll let you know tonight.”

Seulgi only nods slowly, and tries not to think about the possible double meaning behind those words because she doesn’t wanna pass out right now – and that seems possible.

Irene leans back slightly with a hint of smugness on her face, and picks up a pen from Seulgi’s desk and clicks it. “So, tattooing actually seems pretty interesting.” She says casually, and gently pulls at Seulgi’s arm. “Can I try drawing a quick sketch on your arm?”

“Sure, I can always wash it off later if it’s something ugly.”

Irene ignores that jibe and places the pen on Seulgi’s arm. She feels it on her skin as Irene begins by drawing circles (it’s tickling her a little) and decides not to look at what’s being drawn. She focuses on Irene’s face instead, all pretty and slightly scrunched up in concentration. She realizes Irene has shorter bangs now, and how the strands fall over her face, nearly covering her eyes, and it’s really tempting to just reach out and tuck them behind her ear.

“You haven’t told me your name,” Seulgi says quietly, as if scared her voice will disturb the other girl.

“My name is Irene.” she keeps her eyes on her drawing.

“You know I mean your real, Korean name.”

Irene only grins at that, and they slip into a comfortable silence again.

Eventually, Irene finishes her work and looks up to smile at Seulgi, who totally pretends she hasn’t been watching her face the whole time.

“What do you think?” Irene looks at her expectantly.

Seulgi looks at her arm. There’s a drawing of what Seulgi can only assume is a bear standing on two legs, holding hands with a rabbit that’s also standing on two legs (thank god the ears make it obvious it’s a rabbit) and then some random shapes and lines on them and all around them, which Seulgi can’t quite make out.

It’s such an awful sketch, but also the best sketch Seulgi has ever seen.

“It’s so cute,” Seulgi comments.

“You mean badass.”

Seulgi laughs at that. “Okay, it’s badass.”

“Yeah, and just to get all artistic and stuff I made some shades right here and there,” she points at the random lines and shapes she calls shades, and then gets out of her chair. “I really have to go now, but I’ll see you very soon.”

Irene leans forward over the desk and kisses Seulgi on the cheek –this time her soft lips linger a little longer on her face compared to the first time.

Seulgi goes upstairs to find the gifts Irene has put on her coffee table, and it’s only when she looks at her arm to smile at the drawings again, she realizes that a phone number and a name (Bae Joohyun♥) has been written in tiny writings between the random lines and shapes. She should’ve realized this much earlier, but it turns out Irene isn’t so out of her league after all. Never mind her supposed ‘lady killer’ reputation – she is the one being killed here, and she gladly lets it happen.

 

 

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A/N: There might be a Backstreet Boys reference somewhere in there. And also other things, some of which are glaringly obvious and borderline shameless. Feel free to point them out and embarrass me if you do spot them lol

I’ve had this sitting in my laptop for a couple of days and I wasn’t sure if I should post it bc everything just looks weak and lazy af no matter how many times I edited it, but I decided to post it anyway

Thanks for reading :) Until next time