It was Febuary. It's been 10 months since they first met and Seulgi and Irene have become really close friends. Meeting each other at the park became a daily thing for them. Sometimes Seulgi would even pick Irene and the kids at the older girl's place. She usually walks them home as well.

    It took awhile for Irene to open up to Seulgi. Irene recently told Seulgi that she has 3 jobs. Everytime Seulgi asked, Irene would never tell. She decided not to push it and waited for the older girl to be the one to just tell her, and eventually she did. Seulgi also learned that Irene was shy. Seulgi thought it was cute how shy Irene can get. Everytime you compliment her, her face turns red and she looks down. Seulgi didn't only get to know Irene some more, she also got to know more about the kids. Joy has this habit of staring at people randomly, she was a quiet girl but once she's comforable with you she was really playful. Meanwhile Yeri was like a ball of sunshine. Her smile was contagious. She was also a very bright and sweet girl. Everything about their family was beautiful to Seulgi.

    "You're stuck in dreamland again." Wendy said, interrupting Seulgi's thoughts.

    "Oh. Haha sorry." Seulgi said, scratching her head.

    "It's been 10 months and you still haven't introduced her to us." Soojung pouted. "When will we get to meet your girlfriend?"

    "She's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend."

    Soojung pouted even more. "Are we not allowed to meet your friends anymore?"

    "Both of you don't even introduce me to your other friends." Seulgi said, "Besides, you don't have to meet all my friends."

    "Yeah but this friend is special!" Wendy said.

    Seulgi laughed. "All my friends are special."

    Wendy glared at the other girl. "Well you know what I mean when I say she's 'special'."

    "Don't worry. Someday, you'll both meet her."

    It was snowing outside. But Wendy had to step out and fulfill her babysitting duties. She babysits for Irene from Monday to Thursday. She was glad that Irene decided not to get a job on Friday nights so at least Wendy could have a break from watching her kids. But sometimes Wendy would even come to Irene's dance classes just to support her.

    "It's snowing, are you still going over there to babysit?" Seulgi asked the blonde.

    "Yeah, I have to." Wendy said, putting her sweater on. Wendy made sure to bring gloves and a scarf this time to make sure she wouldn't freeze.

    "I'm still willing to babysit for you."

    "That's nice but you don't have to meet all my friends." Wendy said, mocking the other girl.

    Seulgi rolled her eyes while the other girl just laughed. "Have fun with your 'friend'."

    "I will." Wendy said, stepping outside. "Oh and I think you really have to meet her though. I think you'll like her."

    "No thanks. I'm not interested."

    "Oh right, you have a "special" friend now." Wendy said before leaving and closing the door.

    "Wendy unnie!" Yeri screamed as she opens the door. Wendy smiled at the younger girl while giving her a hug.

    "Hi Yeri!" Wendy said just as enthusiastically as Yeri did. Wendy entered their aparment, still holding Yeri's hand. "Where's your mom?"

    "She left early." Yeri answered.

    Wendy made her way to the living room and she saw Joy drawing on the table. "Is that for school?"

    Joy shook her head. "No. It's for Gigi unnie."

    "Gigi unnie?" The older girl said, looking a bit confused. "Is she from your school?"

    Joy shook her head again. "No, no. She's our friend."

    "We met her in the playground!" Yeri said, jumping up and down.

    "Oh, I see." Wendy said. Even these kids are meeting new 'friends'.

    Irene made her way to the spa. She was so tired she would she could get a massage for herself.  She was standing at the reception desk, smiling and  greeting every costumer. Sometimes it was trying having to keep track of every appointment. It was also tiring having to answer phone calls and having to take notes. What she disliked the most was giving tours of the spa facilities. But she couldn't really complain, even though it was tiring she always liked seeing the relax smiles on the customer's faces right after.

    Irene stretched and let out a yawn. Just then a voice said, "You should cover your mouth or a fly might get in."

    "Seulgi!" Irene said. She was surprised. She did tell Seulgi about her jobs, but she never told her where. "What are you doing here?"

    "I came to get a massage."

    "But you need a reservation." Irene said, she was still shocked that Seulgi was here.

    "I did make a reservation." Seulgi said. "Days ago."

    Irene looked at the list of names on her notebook. She checked for Seulgi's name and there it was. "Feb. 14, Thursday, 7:30 pm, Kang Seulgi." She said.

    Seulgi smiled. "Yep that's me!"

    "Oh. Okay. Right." Irene remembered that she had to act professionally or her boss would probably scold. "Miss Kang, please follow me. I will lead you to your room."

    Seulgi couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't used to seeing Irene this way. Irene felt embarrassed, her face was turning red. She led Seulgi to one of the rooms and said, "We hope you enjoy and have a blissful time."
    
    Seulgi finished in about 2 hours. Irene's shift was ending so she was going to leave work soon. Seulgi came to the counter and paid for the treatment she received. "Here you go."

    "Thank you, Miss Kang." Irene said, giving the younger a girl an embarrassed smile.

    "I'll wait for you outside."

    "W-what?" Before Irene could finish what she was going to say, Seulgi was already walking ahead.

    Irene entered the employee lounge. She was changing to her casual clothes. "Who was that?" Hani asked.

    "Which girl?" Irene asked.

    "That girl you were talking to. Dark hair, smiley eyes."

    Irene looked at Hani curiously. "Oh. She's a friend."

    "Just a friend?" Hani said, raising her eyebrow. She was giving Irene The Look. Irene liked to call it that. It's the way your friends look at you when they know you're lying. The Look.

    Irene hesitated before answering. She knew they were friends but sometimes it felt like it was something more. "Yeah. Just friends."

    Seulgi was waiting at the entrance for Irene. It was really cold out so she was freezing. Irene tapped her shoulder, "Did I make you wait long?"

    "No, not at all." Seulgi said, smiling at the older girl. "Wanna go eat?"

    "The kids are waiting for me, I don't think I can." Irene pouted at the younger girl.

    "You said your friend's sister watches over them, right?" Seulgi said. "I'm sure she won't mind."

    Irene bit her lip. It was really tempting, she was hungry after all. And no one could really resist food. "Well..."

    "Great! I'm starving." Seulgi said, grabbing the older girl by her wrists. "I know a great place nearby."

    Seulgi took Irene to a Korean restaurant, but it didn't look like a regular one. The place was beautiful, it gave a historic feel to it. On the outside it looked like a traditional Korean home but on the inside it looked very modern. "Wow it's so beautiful."

    "I knew you'd like it." Seulgi said, smiling brightly at the other girl.

    The waitress came to give them a menu. Irene saw the price for the food and thought it was very expensive. "Don't worry, I'm paying." Seulgi said, as if she was reading Irene's mind.

    "No. We can both pay." Irene said, shaking her head.

    "I brought you here, so I'll pay." Irene was just about to protest. "It's Valentine's Day so consider this a date."

    Irene's eyes widened. "A date?"

    Seulgi nodded and smiled. "Yes, a date. A date as friends."

    The older girl smiled back at her. Thank God, she thought. It's not that she didn't want to date Seulgi but she was just scared and afraid. Scared that her daughters might find it weird that they have 2 mommies and afraid that Seulgi's just going to hurt her. Loving someone also means getting hurt. It's like a package deal. You can't love without getting hurt.

    Seulgi called the waitress and ordered for the both of them. Irene wasn't very familiar with the food so she let Seulgi do the ordering. As soon as the waitress left to take their orders, Irene said, "How'd you know where I worked? I didn't even tell you."

    "I knew you'd work somewhere near your place," Seulgi said, drinking from her glass of water. "I've been making reservations in different spas. This was my 7th spa."

    "7th spa? Did you want to see me that bad?" Irene joked.

    "Yeah, I did." Seulgi said. Irene couldn't help but blush. She was surprised that Seulgi went out of her way just so she could see Irene at work. She was so touched by Seulgi's gesture she was speechless.

    Right after dinner, Seulgi offered to take Irene home. The restaurant was a few blocks away from Irene's place so they decided to walk. "Next time, I'm paying for the food." Irene said.

    "I'm willing to pay for everything as long as I get to spend some more time with you." Seulgi said. She knew that things like this scared Irene. But she thought it was about time for them to define whatever they had. She knew they were friends but she also knew this was going somewhere else. Seulgi glanced at Irene, and the older girl was biting her lip, smiling.

    "Before my ex left me, I thought he was my forever." Irene said. Seulgi was surprised, Irene never liked talking about her life. Most especially if it's about her ex. "He was really nice to me. He was a good dad too. I thought we'd be together forever. I thought he was 'The One'. I cried over him for a year. I used to not understand why he would leave me when we already had 2 kids together. It was so hard raising them on my own. Sometimes when they ask me 'Where's dad?' I couldn't help but cry. It hurt me so much. Too much."

    Seulgi didn't know what to say. She saw that Irene looked sad talking about him. "Does it still hurt?"

    Irene looked at the younger girl and gave her a small smile. "No. I got over it. There's no reason to be sad over him when there are so much people who makes me happy."

    "When you met me, you get over him right?" Seulgi joked. "I'm the main reason you got over him, right?"

    Irene hit the other girl's arm lightly and laughed. "You're so conceited sometimes."

    Seulgi laughed along with Irene. "This is a stupid question but, what's your real name?"

    Irene gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, I know your English name is Irene and your last name is Bae, but what's your real name? Your korean name?"

    "Oh. It's Joohyun."

    "Joohyun." Seulgi said, repeating after the older girl. "I like it better than Irene. From now on I'm calling you Joohyun."

    They were a few minutes away from Irene's home and it started to get chillier. Irene was shivering from the cold, she kept blowing on her fingers to keep herself warm. Seulgi couldn't help but notice. She held the older girl's freezing hands, taking her by surprise.  She was blowing on Irene's fingers and rubbing them with her hands, until she could feel the warmth in the older girl's hands. "Better?" She said.

    "I'm s-still a b-bit c-cold, b-but it's f-fine." Irene said smiling at Seulgi. Seulgi was still rubbing her hands with Irene's but she knew it would't work. She then placed Irene's hands on her neck. "W-what a-are y-you d-doing?!"

    "My grandma used to tell me that if your fingers are cold just place them on your neck" Seulgi said. "The skin on your neck is always warm."

    Irene just stared at the younger girl. She could feel her cheeks heating up. She definitely didn't feel cold anymore. "T-thanks. I'm feeling a bit w-warm now."

    Seulgi removed Irene's hands from her neck. "You sure?"

    Irene nodded.

    The 2 girls were walking even slower this time. They didn't really say anything but they walked in comfortable silence. The back of their hands kept brushing with each other as they walked. Seulgi was biting her lip, she wanted to so badly to hold Irene's hand again. They were so soft and smooth and even though her hands were cold she could feel the warmth in them. Their hands kept brushing and it drove Seulgi crazy. She wondered if this was just an accident or if Irene wanted to hold her hand too. Without thinking, Seulgi held Irene's hand. The older girl stiffened at first, she was surprised. Seulgi thought what she did was just too much for Irene so she let go slowly.

    Irene looked at Seulgi, but Seulgi didn't look back at her. She was too embarrassed, she might've made a fool out of herself. The back of their hands were still brushing againt each other, Irene took Seulgi's hand, she did it slowly and carefully. It felt like she was unsure about it. Irene intertwined their fingers together. The 2 girls looked at each other without saying anything. They walked hand in hand along the street. I walk on this street with her all the time, but why does it feel so different now?, Seulgi thought. She could hear the sound of her pounding heart.

A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter was too long. And I was planning to post this tomorrow but I might be busy so I decided to post today instead ;u;