“…Wonder how big they should be?” Seulgi blared out into the ether,” She didn’t know if anyone was listening—was hoping they weren’t—but asked her question aloud anyway as she stared at the photos on the screen. She flipped through them frantically wondering how she was going to pull her grand idea off as Sunday approached.

“What are you talking about?” Joy asked. Irene, Seulgi, and Joy had come into the office after eating lunch together, and were now in the lounge getting a minimal amount of work done. Joy was browsing an online store for a sweater she wanted for fall, Irene was M.I.A, and Seulgi had been sitting at her computer in a daze ever since they’d walked through the door.

“I was talking to Irene,” Seulgi answered suddenly, trying to explain away the fact that, not only was she talking very loudly, but that she was also, in reality, talking to herself.

“Oh.”

“Is she not even here right now?” Seulgi wondered. She had missed Irene and Joy’s voices once they’d settled down to “business” and didn’t even hear when Irene had gotten up and wandered out of the room.

“She just stepped out for a moment she got a phone call, though I’m not surprised you didn’t hear the loud ring that echoed throught the room. The real question is if you were really talking to her or yourself?” Joy asked, “I’d say yourself because you tend to do that on days like today.”

Joy could read her like a book and she couldn’t deny it, so she nodded, “Yes, myself and no one else. Though I do need her help…” Seulgi’s eyes caught her screen again and she looked away from Joy

“You’re definitely out of it today aren’t you?” Joy chuckled.

“Yeah, Wendy is nervous about tonight, and I’m nervous for her, I just want her to do well.” Seulgi turned again and tried to distract herself with conversation.

“She will,” Joy said, “Just like last time. Singing and music, that’s her niche, unnie, and she’s great at it.”

It had been a couple of weeks and Seulgi had been busy with last minute details of her impending leave and with her secret project for Wendy and she wanted it to be a surprise. Fortunately Wendy had been practicing nearly every day when she wasn’t with them at the studio, and was nervous—though looking forward to her gig at the karaoke bar that was now just hours away, so Seulgi had delved into the details of her surprise and Wendy didn’t seem to notice. But their time was limited now so Seulgi wanted to be around Wendy as much as she could and tonight she was ready to go into full fan mode for her girlfriend.

“Did someone say my name?” Irene asked as she poked her head back into the lounge. She’d heard Seulgi and Joy talking while she was on the phone and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, boss needs advice about something,” Joy said, “She didn’t even know you were gone and started talking to herself.”

“Probably nervous about Wendy’s gig, am I right?” Irene whispered to Joy.

“I heard that,” Seulgi said.

“I know you did,” Irene chuckled and walked fully into the lounge with her two friends,“Sorry, I was taking a call about some design work.”

“Cool, personal work or for the studio?” Seulgi asked.

“For the studio,” Irene said, “I’d tell you first if I was thinking about doing some personal work.”

“I know,” Seulgi said, “Anyway, Joy’s right, I need some advice.”

“What’s up?” Irene asked as she walked over to where Seulgi was sitting in front of the computer.

“Oh,” Irene said, looking at the screen, “I see.” The photos told her exactly what Seulgi was thinking about.

“Yeah,” Seulgi replied, “How big do you think should I make them?”

“Big,” Irene said simply, “More effective that way.”

“That’s what I thought as well.”

“What are you two working on?” Joy asked, looking up from her own screen.

“Top Secret,” Irene said.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you soon,” Seulgi answered, “Go ahead and order that sweater you’ve been looking at, your unnies will take care of everything.”

“Whatever,” Joy said, “I’ll wait patiently, but let me know if you need my help.”

“I’m just kidding, I know I’ll need your help in a couple days, so just sit tight, alright?” Seulgi asked. Her phone started ringing and she glanced at the caller ID: Wendy Calling.

“Okay, I’ll be prepared, now answer the phone, I see those puppy eyes and already know exactly who it is on the line,” Joy said.

Seulgi logged off her computer, got up, and finally answered the phone on the way out the door.

“She’s got it bad,” Joy said.

“Yeah,” Irene agreed, “But it seems nice.”

“It does seem nice,” Joy said, “Don’t worry, someday your time will come, unnie,” A sarcastic tone ringing in her voice.

Irene glared, “Thanks, all my worries just flew out the window.”

“You’re welcome, anytime,” Joy replied, then turned back to her screen away from her fuming unnie, “Time to click Add To Cart.”

 

-----

 

“Hey,” Seulgi said, “What’s up?”

“Just nervous,” Wendy answered. Seulgi couldn’t see her but knew Wendy was probably biting her thumb nail as a force of habit to calm herself down.

“You’re going to be fine, just like last time, plus you’ve practiced a ton and you sound even more amazing than last time,” Seulgi said.

“Thanks baby,” Wendy replied.

“You’re welcome.”

“So, are you going to come home first, or just meet me there?”

“Come home first for sure, it’s just now four, and you don’t need to be there until eight, right?” Seulgi asked.

“Yeah, eight. Sorry I’m just a little antsy.”

“I understand, I’ll be home soon,” Seulgi said.

“Good,” Wendy answered, “A lot of stuff left to do?”

“No,” Seulgi said, “Just a couple of things, but I’ll probably be back up in about thirty minutes. After tomorrow, I won’t have anything left to do, just wait—“

“—To leave?” Wendy asked, cutting through Seulgi’s voice with her own.

“Yeah,” Seulgi said, she changed the subject, “Have you picked out what you’re going to wear?”

“I think so, something simple,” Wendy answered, “I want you to wear your hot biker boots, those black jeans, and that cool shirt I like.”

“The button up?”

“Yeah,” Wendy whispered.

“Okay,” Seulgi laughed, “Pick out whatever you want and I’ll wear it.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Seulgi said.

“Alright, so see you in thirty?”

“Yes,” Seulgi said, “See you in thirty, love you.”

“Love you too,” Wendy said, “Bye.”

“Bye.”

 

-----

 

When Seulgi finally made it home after having to listen to Joy make more jokes about Irene’s lovelife, see Irene glare even harder, and initiate their talk about meeting downstairs at 7:00, she walked into their apartment, and found Wendy in their bedroom listening to music. Her headphone’s volume was turned up almost to max and her eyes were shut. She was totally grooving to the music, her head bopping lightly to the rhythm, and her fingers tapping lightly on her stomach.

Seulgi smiled and walked to Wendy’s side, leaned in, and watched carefully as Wendy’s lips moved—albeit barely— with the song’s lyrics. She was tempted to lean in to kiss her slightly trembling lips, but instead, took Wendy’s hand and entwined their fingers together. Wendy opened her eyes wide, in slight shock, but smiled back when she noticed it was only Seulgi.

“Did I scare you?” Seulgi asked.

“What?” Wendy replied in question, song still blaring.

“Did I scare you?”

The music was still loud, so Seulgi lifted the headphones and whispered her question this time, “Did I scare you?”

Wendy nodded, having finally heard the question, “But not much.” She turned the music off and removed the headphones from her ears.

“May I join you?”

“Yes,” Wendy said, laying her music-filled phone aside. She reached for Seulgi’s waist and pulled her onto the bed.

Seulgi laughed loudly as she tumbled, and smiled Wendy’s favorite smile, “Wasn’t expecting that, but I’m glad to be here.” She moved from directly on top of Wendy to the side and draped her arm over Wendy’s stomach.

“I’m glad you’re here too, I think I need a little reassurance,” Wendy said.

“You have your voice,” Seulgi replied, “And that’s all you need. It’s beautiful, and you’re going to do great.”

“Thank you,” Wendy whispered.

“Mmm, what’s really making you nervous?”

“Maybe the crowd, like last time. I just don’t want to mess up in front of everyone that decided to show up to be entertained.”

“You won’t mess up, it’ll be fine. Don’t go into it thinking like this,” Seulgi said.

“I know, I know. I need something to do distract me,” Wendy answered.

“How about a shower? You love those don’t you?”

“With you?” Wendy replied.

“Of course,” Seulgi said.

“Yeah, I think that may distract me for a while,” Wendy turned and kissed Seulgi delicately, “Help me with my clothes?”

Seulgi put her hand under the hem of Wendy’s shirt and smiled, “Now you’re distracting me.”

“We have a couple hours don’t we?” Wendy asked.

“Yes,” Seulgi said, glancing over at their alarm clock.

“That will be plenty of time to distract me…plenty of time to release some tension.” Wendy began kissing her again and used her tongue to glide across Seulgi’s lips.

“Mmm,” Seulgi said between kisses, “I think it will be.”

 

-----

 

The four of them: Seulgi, Wendy, Irene and Joy finally arrived at the karaoke bar after having to wait for Joy to change her shoes, because one of the straps broke. They’d all hopped into Seulgi’s SUV and made their way to the club. Wendy would drive them back home, but for the ride there, Seulgi had driven.

“Why did you wear high heels anyway?” Irene asked as they waited outside in a short line to get in.

“I’m scoping the crowd for you tonight, unnie. I’m the tallest of the four of us and I’ll need to be the one to look over the even taller people to help you find someone,” Joy said sarcastically.

“Joy, I don’t need any help with my lovelife,” Irene said.

“Sure, whatever you say, unnie. Anyway, I just felt like towering over you tonight.”

Irene huffed and Seulgi and Wendy laughed at their bickering friends.

“Did anybody talk with Yeri today?” Irene asked after the short  skirmish.

“Yeah, I did,” Seulgi said, “I invited her out afterwards, I hate she can’t come into the bar yet.”

“Yeah,” Wendy said, “I hate that too, but she was happy to come out with us after.”

“We’ll have to work on a place to go with her until next year, she should be able to go to bars and stuff then, right?” Irene asked.

“Yeah, next year,” Joy said.

“Good,” Seulgi said, “Try to find some other places to go while I’m…away.” She glanced at Wendy who only nodded.

“You got it, boss,” Joy answered.

 

-----

 

Finally in the bar, they took the table they had last time, and ordered a few drinks—Wendy only ordered water—and waited for Wendy’s time to sing. Since she was an official gig for the bar, and had been asked to sing, the karaoke would only start after her set was done.

At eight, the manager of the bar came over and asked if she was ready to go on, there would be a live band behind her playing the songs she had requested earlier in the week, and they wanted to go over them with her in the back before she went on. Seulgi rubbed Wendy’s lower back, kissed her cheek, and wished her good luck.

“I’m ready,” Wendy said, and she got up to follow the manager. She turned back once and winked at Seulgi who smiled back and mouthed, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

-----

 

While they waited for Wendy to go on, Joy ordered them another round, and that was when they saw someone walking over with a very tall beer in her hands, “Hey ladies, fine evening for karaoke, isn’t it?”

The three women’s eyes almost popped out of their heads as they saw this new woman take a long swig of her drink, “My next one’s on you, Joy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Joy nodded.

“What are you doing here?” Irene asked.

“Wendy called me up and invited me the other day, so I came on over. Needed something to quench my thirst, so I got a beer, but if Joy’s paying we may need something stronger, right Seulgi?”

Seulgi smiled, “I think you’re right, we’ll definitely need something stronger to toast Wendy with when she’s finished, though she’ll be toasting with water. She volunteered to drive us.”

Their surprise guest nodded in agreement, “I’m glad everyone here is responsible, and Wendy was kind to volunteer. She told me your little group is heading out for a celebration afterward, mind if I join?”

“The more the merrier,” Irene said, chuckling lightly.

“You’re more than welcome to come with us, probably just a late night snack session, though,” Joy said.

“Sounds good to me,” the woman said, “Now are you going to make room here for this old lady or do I need to pull up a chair?”

Seulgi got up and let their new drinking buddy into the booth.

“I’ll let you know when to order another round,” the woman said to Joy, and Irene laughed even louder. Seulgi joined in. Tonight would be a very memorable night.

“Just tell me when to order, Mrs. Park,” Joy said.

 

-----

 

When Wendy finally went up on stage and introduced herself to the crowd, the tiny booth in the corner cheered and yelled for her, and by the time the last song was over, everyone in the place cheered for her, gave her a standing ovation, and called out for an encore, the karaoke would have to wait.

Wendy sang two more songs that the band had to improv before she finally joined the table in the corner again.

“You were great, baby,” Seulgi said, getting up and wrapping her arms tightly around Wendy’s waist, “Amazing.”

“Thank you,” Wendy said, ready to tear up, “Mrs Park! You made it!”

“I sure did, couldn’t miss this performance, plus Joy’s been supplying me with beverages.”

“Sure have,” Joy laughed.

“Good, are you going to come eat with us when we leave?” Wendy asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it, need to check in with Yeri and see how she’s doing.”

“Alright.”

“I texted Yeri, and she said she’ll meet us at 10:45 at the snack bar down the street,” Seulgi said.

“Good, we can stay and listen to some acts, right?” Joy asked.

“Sure,” Seulgi said, she glanced at her watch, “We still have an hour.”

“Good, thanks,” Joy settled back into her seat.

“Well, do we need another round?” Mrs. Park asked, “Something stronger now?”

“I think so,” Seulgi said.

Joy raised her hand to call the waiter over to order another round of drinks but Mrs. Park interrupted her, “This one’s on me, and the food’s on me later.”

“It’s okay,” Seulgi said, “We’ll get it.”

“Nonsense, I’ve already made Joy pay for three rounds, let me pay for this one, and the food for everyone later.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Park.”

The older woman smiled, nodded, and raised her hand to call attention to the waiter.

 

-----

 

The karaoke had been excellent tonight, and they’d all had a good time listening to it, even Mrs. Park who hadn’t stepped foot in a karaoke bar before. Afterward Wendy drove to the snack bar with everyone in tow, she’d refrained from the drinks—though they’d still toasted her and her performance— and opted for safety, plus they wouldn’t need to pay cab fare.

In the confines of the snack bar, Yeri finally joined them, and they told her all about the night. They ordered a lot of food, and as they waited for it to come, Seulgi called everyone’s attention, “I have something special going on that I want to do before I have to leave late next week. It’s happening Sunday, and it’s a special project I’ve been working on all summer.”

“What is it?” Wendy asked, unaware of any projects.

“You’ll see very soon, baby,” Seulgi whispered.

“We’ll be glad to come,” Joy said, “Should we invite everyone else in the studio crew?”

“I definitely think so,” Seulgi said.

“You got it, I’ll start telling everyone tomorrow,” Irene said.

The food came, but Wendy boomarked this topic for when they got home. Seulgi held her hand reassuringly under the table. She knew Wendy would want to ask questions later, and needed to formulate exactly what to tell her to keep the project under wraps until the perfect moment.

 

-----

 

Back home, after helping each other change clothes, after Wendy had buttoned down Seulgi's button up and Seulgi had ped Wendy's dress, they slipped into their bed after a truly glorious night, Seulgi spoke first, wanting to discuss the topic of Sunday as quickly as she could, “It’s a party for everyone to come to on Sunday. I wanted it to be special, and I want everyone from work to be there.”

“I was wondering what you were talking about,” Wendy said.

“I guess it will be one last hurrah before I have to go.”

“Mmm,” Wendy hummed, “Well I’m sure it will be fun, and a good way to see everyone at once.”

“It will be, and we’ll have our own little party too if you want. The rest of next week is yours until I head out on Friday.”

“So I can pick what we do?”

“Sure,” Seulgi said, “Anything.”

“Cool, I’ll be thinking of things,” Wendy said.

“You really did well tonight, they loved you,” Seulgi said, “I’m glad you’ll have this while I’m gone.”

“I’m glad too, it will be fun.”

“Mrs. Park was so much fun tonight, make sure you ask her out to eat like we talked about. Try out some new places around town together, I think you’d both enjoy that, and you’ll have to keep me updated on what’s good for when I comeback.”

“I will,” Wendy said, “I’m happy she had such a great time.”

“Joy was shocked to see her.”

“Really? But Joy is never shocked,” Wendy replied.

“I know, Irene unnie was loving it,” Seulgi laughed.

“I bet she was.”

The conversation trailed off for a bit until Seulgi spoke again, “I want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, baby.  Same here, I can’t wait until your magazine comes out, will any be available while you’re gone?”

“I think at least one will, make sure to buy a lot of copies,” Seulgi said.

“I will.”

“Are you sleepy yet?”

“Not yet, will you just hold me for a while?”

“Sure,” Seulgi said. She leaned over and wrapped her body around Wendy’s, “This is my favorite spot, you know that, right?”

“It’s mine too.”

The lights from outside flickered through the windows as they drifted off together. Seoul was still bright and alive, and so were they, so strong and ready for whatever was to come next.

 

===

 

25 is in the books, and there's not much left for this one. I'm diligently working on 26 and 27 and I hope to release those chapters very soon. Don't fret or have worries, I have a lot of plans that I can't tell you about yet. Stay tuned though, all will be revealed soon.

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