Chapter 25

Irene can’t keep still. She continues to pace back and forth SeulGi’s room for the past 10 minutes, her phone tightly clenched in her hand.

She can’t keep still, not with the message she just received from her stupid, meddling cousin Henry.

Goddamnit, Henry!

Why must he even come here in the first place?!

But then she glances over SeulGi.

SeulGi who looks so defenceless as she sleeps, who looks so fragile, and delicate, and… and so lovely.

Irene shakes her head furiously, hoping weird thoughts exit her mind as well.

She looks at her phone again, thinking hard on what to even reply – if she ever even chooses to reply.

If she even ever wanted to reply.

She only sighs as she sits back to SeulGi’s bed.

Maybe her frustrations showed in her actions because SeulGi stirs from the sudden impact on the bed, and it somehow makes Irene feel guilty.

SeulGi opens her eyes slowly and Irene waits for the blonde’s eyes to adjust before Irene says, “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

SeulGi rubs her eyes first as she tries to sit up.

“Don’t.” Irene holds SeulGi into position, “D-Don’t get up yet. You need to rest.”

SeulGi looks at her before nodding and falling back to bed.

Irene lets out a small smile as SeulGi closes her eyes.

“Is everything alright, Irene?”

The question catches Irene off guard as she continues to sit by SeulGi’s bedside.

She hasn’t thought of a reply yet when SeulGi adds, “I’m sorry.”

Irene burrows her eyebrows and she unintentionally puts a hand on top of SeulGi’s head.

And if Irene was still in her right mind, maybe she would have retreated her hand almost immediately,

But she guesses Henry’s message left her in a way that she lets her hand guides itself through SeulGi’s locks,

“Why are you apologizing?” Irene asks softly as she continues to thread her fingers with SeulGi’s hair.

“I…” SeulGi continues to close her eyes, and Irene tries for her poor heart not to clench when SeulGi says,

“I’m being a burden to you.”

Irene doesn’t say anything yet, she only lets her eyes wander SeulGi’s face.

And Irene’s little wandering only stops when SeulGi suddenly opens her eyes and meet with Irene’s.

Their gaze made Irene stop fiddling with SeulGi’s blonde hair as they continue to stare at each other.

And Irene’s the first one to break it again, afraid that the same disastrous thought – feeling – of kissing SeulGi resurfaces.

“Y-You’re not.” Irene says shakily as she withdraws her hand.

“I am.” She hears SeulGi sigh the words, “I’m sick, I can’t do the household chores, I can’t help you with your school works, I can’t… accompany you at times.”

SeulGi stops first, and Irene swears her heart stops with SeulGi.

SeulGi ends with,

“I can’t do my job properly.”

And SeulGi ends Irene’s heart’s beating as well, because SeulGi just has to rub it to Irene’s face once more,

That whatever it is that SeulGi does – to Irene, with Irene, for Irene – is nothing but mere obligation.

A duty, a requirement, a necessity.

A responsibility bestowed – burdened­ – to SeulGi.

That SeulGi does this – all of this – because she has to.

And of course it hurts Irene.

Of course, it somehow does.

So Irene’s only left there, wondering why it has to hurt that much. When she really doesn’t care about SeulGi as much – as much as she thinks she doesn’t.

When she really doesn’t need SeulGi in the first place.

That she already lived even without SeulGi, that her life’s already as perfect as it is even without the other girl.

That SeulGi is just added to her already perfect life just to add some more spice to it.

And so Irene likes to fool herself with these thoughts.

Thoughts that SeulGi is nothing but her servant, thoughts that SeulGi is really just there to serve her.

So Irene sticks to those thoughts – those true yet painful thoughts – as she says,

“Well, I’m guessing you’ll be fine tomorrow and you’ll be back on your own two feet ready to serve me again.”

Irene doesn’t say it with jest, she says it like she means it.

Because she does.

She does mean it when she says that SeulGi will serve her again.

Just like what SeulGi had always done.

Irene stands up and proceeds to the door,

But before she fully leaves, she turns to SeulGi and unkindly says,

“Rest for now, tomorrow when you’re better, accompany us at the mall.”

Irene doesn’t need to specify who’ll be with her, because she knows that SeulGi knows who it is.

Because if SeulGi doesn’t, then maybe SeulGi wouldn’t be roughly biting her own lips.

---

SeulGi does get better the next day, or Irene thinks the other girl did.

Or if SeulGi’s forcing herself.

Either way, Irene really doesn’t care.

Well, not as much anymore.

Not after her realization last time that SeulGi is the servant.

Her servant.

Irene makes sure that the walls she had built from the beginning is still there and standing, stonger and tougher than ever.

She now protects herself – her feelings – better.

Making sure that she herself doesn’t cross the line she’s drawn between them.

If there really was something to cross over about.

She makes sure that the borders between SeulGi and her keep intact, so intact that she doesn’t care if the other girl walks slowly behind – Irene’s not sure if SeulGi’s purposely giving her and SuHo some privacy or if SeulGi’s still sick or SeulGi just really doesn’t want to catch up to them.

Irene makes sure that her feelings are shielded. She makes sure by pressing herself closer to SuHo, she makes sure by leaning nearer to him when they whisper, she makes sure by locking their fingers tighter every chance she gets.

And she doesn’t know why she does.

When it’s clear that the feeling between her and SuHo isn’t as strong as before, that their relationship is already strained and cracked.

But maybe Irene really likes to fix that – to fix them.

So determined that she’s the one who kisses his cheek goodbye this time.

So determined that she looks over at SeulGi as she does kiss SuHo – smirking lightly when she sees how SeulGi can’t seem to bring her eyes to look at them.

And so Irene feels triumphant again.

Seeing SeulGi like that.

Smiling all the way she does as she feels she had protected herself from those aching feelings.

---

But then her smile fades after the next few days.

Because she just has to hear early in the morning, the nauseating and, not to mention, annoying, loud voice – a voice too familiar for her liking – shouting and announcing,

“Bust the door open, Junnie!

“Your handsome cousin Henry’s in the house!!”

Irene stops with whatever she’s doing, she sees SeulGi do the same as the blonde jerks her head to face Irene,

SeulGi asks, “Henry’s here?”

Irene only throws a glance. She feels gets dry.

“.” Irene mutters.

She honestly forgot that that idiot Henry will be visiting.

“I’ll open the door for him,” She hears SeulGi say,

She sees SeulGi stand up to walk to the door, but Irene suddenly has no control over her body because her hand immediately stops SeulGi from doing so – making SeulGi to questioningly look at her.

“I-I’ll do it,” Irene unsteadily says – and she wonders why, “I’ll be the one.”

She continues to say in a low voice, adding much more confusion than she already has, “Just… Just stay here.”

Irene warily walks to the door, praying with all her might that her fists stay where they are and not land on Henry’s cheek, or on any part of her cousin if ever he decides to do something that will irk her in any way.

Irene shakes her hands first before opening the door to a smiling idiot named Henry.

“My favourite cousin!” He hugs her the moment she opens the door.

“Get off me, dork!” She playfully shoves him, but being born to piss the living hell out of Irene, he only tightens his hug.

“I missed you!” He says before whispering, “Now, where’s SeulGi?”

Now Irene really pushes him off – hard.

“Why are you even here?” Irene tries not to spit the words out.

“To check up on you, of course!”

“Liar, you just wanted to see SeulGi, don’t you?” She continues to say with clenched teeth.

“What? That’s craz–”

“Just say the damn truth, Henry!”

“Well, it’s kind of true.”

“Don’t. Go. Near. Her.” Irene jabs her index finger at Henry’s chest with every word.

“Are we still having this fight, Irene? I already told you a million times that I’m not even planning on playing with her.”

“I swear to God, Henry,” Irene glares at him, the intensity in her eyes coming through, “If you much as so lay a finger on her, I’m going to cut your hand off.”

“Still that crazy, possessive girl, I see?” Henry chuckles and it only earns him another hard jab by his arm, stronger than the initial one if possible.

Irene hisses, “Only if it’s you.”

Lie.

Even with that retarded seal Wendy, she feels infuriated when the former is too close to SeulGi.

Irene thinks, but she quickly pushes the thought off as she focuses back on Henry who’s now desperately bobbing his head left and right as if looking for something – someone.

And Irene sees how Henry’s eyes instantly lights up, as if he sees what he’s looking for all his life.

He seems too happy that maybe he doesn’t realize how his already smiling as he gently pushes Irene to the side already – eyes still looking front as he does.

He starts walking inside the house even before Irene gives him the permission to, or even before Irene’s able to stop him.

To stop him for at least muttering, “… SeulGi.”

Irene quickly turns back to see how Henry’s already in front of the girl he just called.

The girl he called that’s already beet-red with the mere mention of her name.

The same, stupid girl – as stupid as he is – that’s already biting her lip in embarrassment, and maybe mixed with the fluttering beating of butterflies inside her stomach with the way he smiles at her.

The same, stupid girl who just has to say his stupid name back, in the same soft manner he did, “Henry.” 

And it’s even more stupid how he giggles – how disgusting, Irene thinks – as he nervously rubs his nape as he says, “Hey.”

With SeulGi mirroring the same nervousness Henry’s having by biting her lip before saying, “… Hi.”

“H-How have you been?” Henry asks, his eyes practically glued to the girl in front of him.

“I, I’ve been fine,” SeulGi nods before looking back at Henry, “Y-You?”

He coyly smiles again before biting a lip, “Been missing you.”

He chuckles, and SeulGi – who was caught by the comment off-guard for a moment – giggles softly with him.

And Irene can only roll her eyes as she stops herself from cringing – and her heart from constricting too hard. She, like impulse, stands in between them.

“For hell’s sake,” She quickly gets a hold of SeulGi’s hand, unintentionally grabbing it firmly, “Stop flirting, we still need to go to school.”

And she sees SeulGi zone out yet again.

For SeulGi was staring at their joined hands, and Irene wonders if she should have let go of SeulGi. With the way SeulGi’s eyes widen for a split second before having to stare longer than Irene thought she should.

But Henry was there, and Irene doesn’t know why she’s afraid. That maybe when she does let go of SeulGi’s hand, Henry’s would be there to replace hers.

And Irene doesn’t seem to like the idea, because she only tightens her grip on SeulGi.

“I’ll go with you!” Henry cheerfully suggests.

“You can’t go with us, Henry.” Irene starts walking away, tugging SeulGi to go with her already, “We have classes to attend to.”

“No, I’ll just go with you until you reached school,” Henry catches up to them, “Is Mr. Kim still the driver?”

“Henry, just go some place else! Stop bothering us!” Irene irritatingly says.

“I promise I’ll be good!” Henry stands in between Irene and the doorway, so Irene only shoots daggers at his direction once more.

“You really are persistent, aren’t you?” Irene twitches an eye.

“You bet I am, Junnie.” He grins, then looks over at SeulGi again and winks at the blonde.

SeulGi’s blush doesn’t go unnoticed by Irene, and so Irene scoffs.

“Look for your own ride to school, Henry.” Irene tries to get pass through him, but Henry thinks otherwise as they continue to block each other from moving to their destinations.

“I swear I won’t step foot in your campus!” Henry raises his hands as surrender, “I’ll just see to it that you reach school.”

Irene looks at him before sighing.

She gives up.

“Fine,” Irene sighs, she admits that Henry won’t accept ‘no’ for an answer. Henry whispers a loud ‘Yes’, but Irene quickly adds, “But you’ll sit on the passenger’s seat.”

“Aww,” Henry’s enthusiasm decreases.

“Take it or leave it, Henry. It’s your choice.” Irene shrugs.

Henry looks at her first, then at SeulGi, then back at her.

He sighs a defeated, “Fine.”

Irene smiles in victory,

But that smile fades when she sees SeulGi smiling back at Henry.

---

Irene has never thought that the drive to their school could be this long and could be this bothersome, and could be this maddening.

Not when Henry blatantly stares at SeulGi, his body turned from the passenger’s seat so that he’ll be facing the girls, his hand supporting his chin as he stares comfortably at the blonde while he contentedly smiles.

With the said blonde being self-conscious as she timidly tucks her hair behind her ear, glancing over Henry time to time as well when she’s not looking outside.

Irene looks at them back and forth, her blood reaching its boiling point with how dreamy Henry looks at SeulGi.

And SeulGi just has to look back!

She just has to look as dreamily back!

A small smile playing on her lips as she tries to cover it with her hand as she looks outside.

“Goddamnit.” Irene curses under her breath.

“You look stupid, Henry. Keep your eyes on the road.” It was Irene’s turn to look outside.

“Why should I?” Henry doesn’t even look at her, he only continues to dorkily smile at the girl beside Irene, “When I can keep my eyes on SeulGi instead?”

Irene snaps her head back at her cousin – who was still, mind you, looking at SeulGi.

Then she sees SeulGi blush even more, if SeulGi can still manage to look as red.

“You're seriously not falling for this, are you, Seul