Chapter 11

SeulGi feels bad, of course she does; but what can she do? She can only wish and hope that these weird feelings exit her body,

And fast.

This feeling is intoxicating to her. It does something wrong to her – with her – which in turn makes her do something wrong to ‘someone else’.

Ironically, that someone else is Irene.

The very same person giving her the intoxicating feelings, the very same feelings that drive her crazy to the point of lunacy, the very same feelings she wishes hard every moment to disappear and never come back.

The poison in her system that she prays hard she spews out soon.

It was unhealthy, this kind of sensation,

And SeulGi desperately wants to cleanse herself off it.

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SeulGi stands like the idiot she is in front of Irene’s tightly shut door.

She can only shake her head at Irene’s immaturity at times, for the door has a poorly written note – which SeulGi guesses from anger – saying in all capital letters, ‘NO ASSES ALLOWED!!!’

The amount of exclamation points making Irene’s fury clear to whoever will read it.

“And she is allowed?” SeulGi mutters to herself.

SeulGi battles with herself whether she’ll knock now or let Irene get tired of waiting for her untouched breakfast downstairs to go to her.

SeulGi chooses the first one because the second one, clearly, is not happening.

After SeulGi makes awkward knocks in between awkward intervals, she turns the doorknob with shaky hands.

She confesses that she is somehow afraid to face Irene, as SeulGi is expecting that Irene will either come at her and scratch her on the face like the y feline that she is or worse, give her the deadly silent treatment.

It was only when SeulGi sees Irene staring at her callously that she wishes Irene’s nails were rather at her face by now.

The dead stares keep on giving SeulGi chills, making her shiver to the spine.

“B-Breakfast in bed.” SeulGi was supposed to add another flimsy title after that but she’s not dumb or insensitive enough to.

Irene only continues to stare from her bed, and SeulGi only continues to be a statue in front of the Princess.

“Sh-Should I just leave it here?” SeulGi walks to the table near Irene and puts it there very carefully, so careful that the tiny noise of the tray hitting the wooden table may be heard downstairs.

It was so quiet, and it has always been with Irene. Well, most of the time.

But this is not the quiet SeulGi is used to, or SeulGi wants.

This is not what she wants.

She wants to apologize, for what? For being an , maybe?

SeulGi is not sure, either. She just knows that she wants this torment to end.

“I’m sorry, okay?” SeulGi says beside Irene’s bed. She’s still standing from in front of the small table, her eyes never leaving the tray. SeulGi reasons that it’s because it’s easier to look at it than to look at Irene.

“I didn’t know that you went through the trouble to buy a sketchpad for me.” SeulGi honestly says the reason she thinks made Irene flinch.

SeulGi is honestly happy when she finally hears at least a scoff from Irene.

But that’s the only response SeulGi got, at least Irene responded.

SeulGi faces Irene’s bed. She is only able to see Irene’s profile. SeulGi continues, “Thank you, okay? I couldn’t thank you enough. So please, please, for the love of all the gods out there, will you stop being mad at me?”

No proper response, just a small “Tch.”

SeulGi doesn’t give up just yet, “I honestly appreciate what you did for me and yes I’m an for getting all worked out about you going home late. I over-reacted, okay? I’m sorry,”

SeulGi can feel her heart beat fast again, and she doesn’t want Irene to get the wrong idea that SeulGi is offering herself to Irene, so SeulGi says again,

“I’m just worried about what your parents will tell me if they find out I don’t keep an eye on you.”

That made Irene finally talk,

“See?! That’s the problem, SeulGi!” Irene faces a surprised SeulGi, “You do this – all of this,” Irene motions her hands around her surrounding, “– Because you are asked to! Because you’re afraid that you might get scolded by my parents?! For not keeping me home on time?!”

Poor SeulGi could only let her eyebrows meet in utmost confusion, “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? I’m asked to be your companion? To serve you? Haven’t you made that clear?”

“It is your job! And you’re doing pretty damn well! Getting all worked out when I passed my curfew because you’re afraid of being reprimanded by my parents!”

“Well, what do you want me to do?! Let you off all night partying and going on dates or whatever it is you do?!” SeulGi doesn’t watch her words anymore. She doesn’t know why she’s feeling bitter all of a sudden.

“I want you to get mad at me for going home late!”

“I am mad at you for going home late!”

“I want you to get mad at me if I break my parents’ rules! I want you to get mad at me if I don’t do my assignments! I want you to get mad at me for not eating my meals! I want you to get mad at me because I don’t listen to you!”

SeulGi gets more and more confused with every word that comes out of Irene’s mouth, but she got the most perplexed when she hears what Irene has to say next,

“I want you to get mad because you care for me!”

Irene breathes out rapidly and loudly after all what she just said. SeulGi does the opposite as she holds her breath with every phrase thrown at her.

“I want you to reprimand me not because you’re afraid of what my parents will say,” Irene continues to stare at SeulGi, though it’s not one of those chilly ones, it was warm, soft even, “I want you to get mad at me because you worry about me, because you care about me.”

SeulGi knows in herself that she wanted to answer Irene and say that she does care for Irene, that she does worry about Irene.

But there was also something in her that holds her back from saying all those, and it irritates her because she can’t break free from whatever it is.

“I hate you, you know?”

SeulGi snaps back to reality when she heard those words come out of Irene’s mouth.

“Well are you just going to stand there like the insensitive piece of you are?” Irene continues to throw words at a still baffled SeulGi.

SeulGi realizes she had stared too long because Irene starts to get up from the bed and walk out of the room, cursing and muttering.

“You are such an insensitive. Thoughtless. Dumb. , SeulGi!” Irene nastily spit all the mean words out as she pass by SeulGi. Not caring anymore if she’ll hurt SeulGi with these words or not.

“I really, really hate you!!” Irene takes one last step to fully create an amount of distance between her and SeulGi.

Irene was about to walk to the door but a hand stops her from doing so.

SeulGi was quick enough to snap off her thoughts and not allow Irene to leave.

“Let me take you out.” SeulGi said without thinking, she mentally asks herself if she heard it right, “L-Let me make it up to you,” SeulGi gulps, “By taking you out. T-Today.”

SeulGi gets more confused when she sees Irene getting flustered and confused as well.

“Don’t mock me.” Irene tries to break away from SeulGi’s