1. Night

 

 

Wendy came home the next Friday looking a bit defeated. She walked through the door with an uncharacteristic frown on her face, something that Seulgi was certainly not used to seeing. Wendy, even after a hard day, often came home happy and with a bright smile on her face. This week had been a different story, each time Wendy stepped through the door she seemed more and more conquered by whatever was going on. These last few days, her job was taking a toll that it hadn’t before. Their promises made last week were still intact, but the new week had brought challenges to test them.

Seulgi, who was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, looked up to see Wendy the moment she walked through the door. She noticed her sad face and called her over to the couch, knowing that whatever had happened was weighing heavily on her mind. She put her arm around her in hopes that her touch would be a comfort but was unsure if Wendy would be willing to talk yet.

Seulgi wanted to do something about it but had no clue where she could even begin. She’d already caused Wendy enough problems at the company, so going there and causing another blow up was not an option. All she knew was that she could see the literal heaviness of something not of Wendy’s own making affecting her general mood whenever she came home. And today was no different, a mass of feelings appeared to be resting despicably on Wendy’s proud shoulders. She threw her keys down and took a deep breath before spotting Seulgi staring back at her from the couch.

“Come here, now,” Seulgi said.

“Okay,” Wendy walked over and  collapsed next to Seulgi on the comfy couch.

“What’s wrong, Wen?” Seulgi asked carefully, wrapping her hands tightly around Wendy’s waist.

Her normal voice was gone and instead she spoke quietly, “Nothing, just a difficult day at work.”

Seulgi knew it was something more than just a difficult day at work, but she needed to approach this carefully, figuring Wendy was still working it over in her own mind. It was easy to tell that Wendy would often overthink if something went awry, but this time, Seulgi noticed the burden was greater than before. Seulgi motioned for Wendy to put her feet up on the couch and took off her shoes for her, untying the laces carefully. After Wendy’s feet were revealed Seulgi pulled them into her lap and began rubbing them lightly, hoping it would relax her.

Wendy’s eyes fluttered and she moaned at the action, melting into the couch cushion, “That feels amazing.”

Seulgi spoke up, figuring she would press the issue only once more, “Want to talk about it? Your difficult day? I know it’s not nothing, it’s really affecting you, and has been since the work week started.”

“No,” Wendy sighed, “it’s not important right now. I’m just rolling something around in my head as usual, I want to relax for the rest of the weekend, and try not to think about work.”

“Okay,” Seulgi said, kneading the tense muscles in Wendy’s right foot. She would let Wendy tell her in her own time.

“That is,” Wendy moaned, “So good.”

“Want be to do your back next.”

“You can do my whole body like that,” Wendy said.

“Okay,” Seulgi realized that Wendy probably hadn’t realized what she’d just said, so she continued the massage.

“I just want to lie on this couch for the rest of the night and do absolutely nothing,” Wendy hummed at Seulgi’s ministrations.

Seulgi winced, and knew she had a slight problem, “That may be somewhat difficult.”

“Why is that?” Wendy asked, opening her eye and sitting up on her elbows.

The massage stopped, “Not the forgetting about work part, I’ll help you with forgetting about that for sure…”

“Then?”

“Joy and Irene worked up a plan at the studio today to go eat and hit up the noraebang,” Seulgi whispered.

“And?” Wendy asked.

“And I…sort of told them we’d tag along.”

Wendy groaned, and fell back to the couch, “You know I love our friends, but I don’t know if I can face anyone tonight.”

“Please?” Seulgi requested softly, grabbing Wendy’s left foot and massaging it,“I know you want to forget about whatever happened at work,  but maybe this will help. A night out with our friends may do the trick.”

“I don’t…hmmm, right there,” Wendy said, reacting to a particularly tense spot that Seulgi was helping to heal.

“Look, I’m not going to make you go, baby. If you don’t go then I’ll stay here,” even though Seulgi had looked forward to the night when they’d agreed upon it that morning, she knew Wendy may not actually be up for going, “They can go without me, it’s fine. We’ll stay here and watch TV or something, put a frozen pizza in the oven.”

“No, that’s not fair to you. You sounded really excited about it, and even though I love frozen pizza, the way you just talked about it made me feel really guilty. Have I treated you poorly this week?”

“No, you just seemed preoccupied and aloof. I figured it was just stress from the party creeping back up again, but as the week went on, I knew it was less to do with the party and more the people that attended it.

“You’re right about that. I didn’t realize I was being so reserved, maybe you have the right idea, a night out may be just the thing I need to clear my head,” Wendy said.

“Are you sure? Don’t feel like you have to go just because the plans are already made.”

“It’s alright,” Wendy said, smiling, “I’ll go, but I need to hop in the shower and get ready.”

“There’s plenty of time, we can’t go until 8:00, I’ll fix you a snack and you can stay here and relax for a while. It’s only 5:30.”

“Okay, that sound nice,” Wendy said.

Seulgi moved to get up, but Wendy grabbed her hand and stopped her.

“Thank you for taking care of me, I’m sorry if I came into the apartment weird today, and the rest of the week as well I…”

“It’s my job to help you, and I love taking care of you. Don’t worry about how you did or didn’t come into the apartment, you can tell me about everything later, baby. I know you like to think about things and process them in your own time before you fill me in. I’m not going to push you to tell me anything if you’re not ready to say it.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m hiding anything from you, it’s not that at all.”

“I know, just tell me what happened today when you’re ready,” Seulgi said.

“Okay,” Wendy breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good, now let me go get us a snack,” Seulgi said.

“Wait,” Wendy said, pulling Seulgi back to her.

“Yes?”

Will you snuggle with me for a while? I need it for the type of day I had,” Wendy said shyly.

“Of course,” Seulgi rubbed Wendy’s cheek with the back of her hand, “Be right back.”

 

-----

 

After their cuddling and snack session, Wendy went to take a shower. Seulgi called Irene and told her they would, in fact, be meeting them in the lobby at 8:00.

“Did you convince her to go with us?” Irene asked.

“Yeah, she’s looking forward to seeing everyone,” Seulgi answered.

“Good, she needs a night out,” Irene said.

“I think so too.

“Okay, well I’m going to go get ready. See you in a bit.”

“See you.”

 

-----

 

Stepping out of the shower, Wendy got a chill when the cool air from the oscillating fan in their room hit her. She wasn’t sure if tonight was a good idea, but seeing Seulgi’s face and how much she wanted to spend time with her friends changed her mind. Of course Wendy loved all of their friends and spending time with them, but the day’s events had her on edge. Cearly though she hadn’t been herself this week by the way Seulgi had described, and tonight she wanted to make it up to her girlfriend. She would it up and go out, not wanting to ruin the fun for anyone.

A knock awakened her from her thoughts, and Seulgi poked her head into the bedroom, seeing Wendy with a towel, she shut her eyes quickly, “Sorry, I thought you may have been ready.”

“Is it almost time?”

“No,” Seulgi said, “It’s just now 7:00, you have plenty of time.”

“Okay, you know it’s alright if you see me with thistowel on,” Wendy said, “I’m covered.”

“I know, I just want you to have some privacy before we head out, I’ll be in the living room, baby.”

“Alright, Seul.”

Seulgi almost had the door shut before Wendy called out again, “Seulgi!”

“Yes?” Seulgi replied sticking her head back through the space in the door.

“It would be more than okay if you saw me without this towel as well,” Wendy said.

Wendy could hear Seulgi’s audible gulp and noticed her face was turning red.

“Casual wear?”

“Sure,” Seulgi said, and shut the door as fast as she could

“I look forward to that day,” Wendy said out loud to the empty room.

 

----

 

When 7:45 rolled around the pair stood in their living room, almost ready to head out to meet Irene and Joy downstairs in the lobby.

“Are you still okay with going?” Seulgi asked.

“Of course, I’m looking forward to it now,” Wendy answered, getting closer to Seulgi.

“Good,” Seulgi leaned in and kissed Wendy, “Let me get my watch and ring and we can go down to the lobby.”

“I was serious about the towel thing,” Wendy said, standing on her toes and kissing Seulgi herself.

“I know you were, that’s why I got out of there. I was looking forward to that view, and knew it was better to wait until we have more time.”

“Really?” Wendy asked, surprised, “I thought you were embarrassed.”

“Just because my face turned red, doesn’t mean I was embarrassed but I—“

In a strange turn of events, Seulgi was interrupted by the buzzer at the front door of the complex. Wendy jumped from the sudden ringing, and noticed it was the one outside, which shocked them both.

“That’s at the front door, out on the street,” Wendy said. They usually didn’t have many visitors and the ones they did have were normally expected or already lived in the building.

“Yeah, that’s unsual,” Seulgi said.

“Did you call someone else to go with us?” Wendy asked, she grabbed Seulgi’s hand.

“No,” Seulgi said, “Don’t worry, it’s alright.

Seulgi entwined their fingers and reassured Wendy.

“Who could it be?” Wendy wondered.

“I’m not sure, as far as I know it’s just the four of us,” Seulgi said, she let go of Wendy’s hand and headed to the counter where her watch was.

“Maybe Joy asked someone else to come along?” Wendy thought.

“Why would our buzzer be ringing and not theirs? Maybe it’s just Joy and Irene and they are ready to go now,” Seulgi said, putting on her watch, “Check the video feed to see if it’s one of them.”

“Okay,”

“They have keys though,” Seulgi thought out loud, “So I’m not sure why they would be ringing to come inside. Joy’s probably just being annoying.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Wendy laughed, though still nervous. She went to check the video screen to see who was outside, “You’re going to want to take this one,” Wendy said.

“Why?” Seulgi asked, “We’re about to head out. Is it Joy or Irene? I told them to wait in the lobby not outside.”

She buzzed the person into the apartment complex, without even consulting Seulgi, “No, it’s definitely neither of them, but just trust me on this one. You need to let this one play out,she’s coming up now.”

“She’s?”

“Yeah it’s a woman,” Wendy said.

Outside they could hear the elevator rumble and stared at each other until it stopped.  Then suddenly someone knocked on the door. Seulgi went to answer it cautiously.

“Don’t worry,” Wendy said, “It’s safe to answer it.”

Opening the front door, an unexpected but smiling face appeared in front of Seulgi, “I’m here with my portfolio,” the girl said, eagerly.

“Hey,” Seulgi said, shocked.

“You know who this is, don’t you?” Wendy asked, smiling at their guest.

“Of course, how could I forget the girl from my photo shoot?”

“Right, that’s me” the girl said.

“What are you doing here?” Seulgi asked, genuinely confused.

“Miss Joy made an appointment for me to show you my portfolio tonight, I’ve been in contact with her for a few weeks.”

“Oh really?” Seulgi asked

She nodded.

Seulgi smiled, “Come on in, are you finished with your internship?”

“Yes, finally,” The girl sighed in relief.

The girl looked to Wendy and waved.

“Hey,” Wendy said with a smile.

“Hello again Miss Son.”

“It’s Wendy, just Wendy.”

“W-wendy.”

“So,” Seulgi said, “Where’s your portfolio?”

“In my bag,” the girl pulled a colorful backpack around so she could pull out the folder. Doing so, she handed it straight to Seulgi.

Seulgi read the first page quickly, a cover letter of sorts with her resume and information about her, “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to speak with you since that day, but I’ve told Joy to keep in touch, and I’ve had some things in the works for you.”

“It’s alright, Miss Kang, I’m just happy to be given a chance to meet with you again.”

Wendy leaned against Seulgi and read the cover letter over her shoulder, “Oh, so that’s your name.”

“Miss Son—I mean Wendy is right, we should have asked your name before now, it’s good to finally know it,” Seulgi said.

“Kim Yerim, here to help in any way I can, I’m ready to learn from the best.”

“Kim Yerim,” Wendy said aloud.

“it’s my given name, but  you can call me Yeri, everyone else does.”

“Yeri,” Seulgi repeated.

Wendy smiled as she watched Yeri bow at the mention of her nickname.

“Yeri, we’re about to go meet Joy and one of my other colleagues downstairs. We’re all going to the noraebang tonight, so unfortunately I won’t be able to look at this tonight,” Seulgi closed the portfolio, but held it tightly.

“Oh, should I leave?” Yeri asked glumly, unsure of what to do.

“This is Joy’s fault,” Wendy whispered in Seulgi’s ear.

“Yeri, Joy’s asked you to come to my apartment tonight without even telling me about it, I had no idea you were coming over.”

“I’m so sorry, Miss Kang, really. I’ll just head out now. Ummm, keep the portfolio if you want.” She zipped up her bag, and prepared to walk away.

“Wait,” Wendy said. Yeri turned around again.

“If you can leave that would be great,” Seulgi said.

“What do you mean, baby?” Wendy whispered so Yeri couldn’t hear.

“Just wait,” Seulgi whispered back.

“Okay,” Yeri said, confused. Her face suddenly the saddest Seulgi had ever seen.

“…But you’ll be going with us, want to come along to the noraebang?”

“Really?” Yeri asked, surprise ringing in her voice.

“Sure, we’ll look at this later,” Seulgi tapped the portfolio in her hands, “Is that okay?”

“Yes, Miss Kang,” Yeri’s face was cheerful again, and it had only taken one sentence to make that happen. Seulgi wished the same could be true for Wendy’s problem at work.

“It’s Seulgi,” She corrected, “I’m very tough when it comes to work, but not strict otherwise. I’m your unnie, but you can call me Seulgi. I told you that I’d work on an internship for graphic design, and I’ve talked to my graphic designer. She’s willing to help.”

“Really? Thank you Miss Kang—I mean Seulgi. Will I get to meet her soon?”

Seulgi chuckled, “Very soon, she’ll be coming with us and she’s the eldest unnie amongst all of us. She may want you to call her unnie. We’re all older than you, and even though I don’t mind if you call me unnie or not, she might. She works for me, but she’s my unnie too. She takes pride in that fact.”

Yeri gulped.

“She’s really nice, Yeri. Don’t worry, this won’t be like your magazine internship,” Wendy said.

“I didn’t mean to make Irene sound so tough. She is, but she is kind, shy, and gentle outside of work environments. She just likes to remind us all that she’s the eldest. She’s really fun and inviting once she gets to know someone. She’ll help you and guide you Yeri, no worries.

Yeri’s face calmed down a bit.

“This isn’t formal yet, that will happen tomorrow, but I’ve promised to help you and after seeing what your other internship was like, this one will be much more hands on and geared to your interests. Once I see your portfolio and check it with Irene, we’ll all three work together to figure out a plan, does that sound okay?”

“Yes, unnie, I can’t thank you enough for helping me,” Yeri said.

“I just want you to do your best, that will be payment enough, and if after all is said and done, once your classes are over, you may have a job here, Let’s wait and see.”

“I…” Yeri couldn’t think of anything to say so she bowed again, and probably would have flipped her entire body doing so if Wendy hadn’t spoken up, “Well, it’s almost 8:00, should we head downstairs?” she asked.

Are you ready to go?” Seulgi asked.

Yeri unfolded herself and nodded.

The three headed downstairs to meet their friends.

 

-----

 

In the lobby, Joy and Irene were waiting. Joy appeared to actually be twiddling her thumbs in boredom as she waited for Seulgi and Wendy to get to the lobby.

“What are you doing?” Irene asked.

“I’m bored standing here, are Seuldy going to come with us or not?”

“Who is Seuldy?”

“My nickname for Seulgi and Wendy. I like Wenseul too, but I’m trying out both,” Joy said.

“Okay…well that’s interesting. Anyway, Seulgi called me and said they were coming.”

“Then where are they?”

“They’ll be down here in a minute. Calm down.”

“Joy,” Seulgi suddenly called, stepping off the elevator, “We’re here.”

“Oh thank gosh,” Joy whispered to Irene.

“I’ve invited another guest, we’ve been upstairs talking, sorry,” Seulgi said.

“You should have called Irene again and said you’d be late,” Joy complained.

“Who is it, Seul?” Irene asked, calmly.

Yeri stepped out from behind Seulgi.

Joy looked shocked, “Yeri, is that you?”

“Yes, unnie.”

“What are you doing here?” Joy asked.

“Joy, you set up her appointment for this evening,” Wendy said, “She brought her portfolio for Seulgi to look at.”

“I did?”

“Yes, Joy unnie.” Yeri said.

“Well, anyway, I won’t be looking at the portfolio tonight since we’re going to the noraebang. I thought it might be nice for Yeri to come with us and meet Irene. She’ll be working with her the most,” Seulgi said, “I told her we’d check out her portfolio later.”

Yeri looked to Irene carefully and saw that Irene was waving to her, “Hi Yeri!”

“Hello, unnie,” Yeri bowed low, “I’ll work hard, I won’t let you down.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Irene said, chuckling.

“She brought everything with her, I told her we’ll look at it all later,” Seulgi said directly to Irene.

Yeri pointed to her backpack, “I left my portfolio upstairs, but I have some sketches to show you too, unnie, if…you want to check them out.”

“I’d love to Yeri, I’ll take a look at them a little later. And we’ll plan to meet again tomorrow and look at your portfolio with Seulgi,” Irene said, “Then I want to talk to you individually, is that okay? Show you around? Tell you what we do?”

“Yes, unnie.”

“Good, don’t be nervous,” Irene said, patting Yeri on the back, “I know all about your magazine internship, and this will be nothing like that.”

“I-I’ll try not to be nervous, unnie,” Yeri said.

“What did you tell her about me?” Irene asked Seulgi.

“Just that you’re the eldest unnie,” Seulgi said

“I am the eldest, Yeri, and I’m pretty demanding when it comes to work, but…”

“Yeri,” Joy interrupted, “Irene is our shy unnie. Once you’ve earned her respect, she’ll respect you too.”

Irene blushed but nodded, “She’s right, our business is important. Seulgi relies on us, and we rely on her. We’re a team. There’s no need to fear me, I’m not that manager from the magazine. Even if you call me unnie, we’ll work together, alright?”

Yeri smiled at the reassurance,“Yes, unnie, I look forward to that.”

“Okay, anyway, is everyone ready?” Seulgi asked, “We have a few stops before the noraebang.”

They all left the lobby and went out into the busy street. They hopped into an SUV that had magically been  parked outside.

“Yours?” Wendy asked.

Seulgi nodded, “Are you going to be okay? While we’re out?”

“I think so, Joy’s banter already has my mind at ease,” Wendy joked.

“Wait until you hear her singing,” Seulgi said.

“Oh, she’s not a good singer?”

“No, she is, Joy’s a great singer, she just enjoys being extremely loud at the noraebang.”

“Cool,” Wendy said, “So just a normal day at Kang Studios?”

“Exactly,” Seulgi laughed, and held onto Wendy’s hand.

Joy leaned up from the back, “Kiss her or drive, Kang.”

“You got it, boss,” Seulgi said.

And away they went.

 

-----

 

Seulgi pulled into a parking deck that was central to the other locations they were going to visit. The tiny street food stands they were planning to go to were down one street, and the noraebang was down the other. Their parking place was convenient as well, it’s exit went right out into the alley where the stands were.

At the bottom of the stairs, Seulgi stopped everyone and spoke, “Alright, we’ll go get some food first and since Yeri’s with us, let’s just stick to soda, is that alright with everyone?”

“That’s fine,” Wendy said. Though she could have used a distraction tonight, a clear mind was more important. She still needed to unravel the events of the day and she needed to talk with Seulgi later.

“I don’t want to ruin anyone’s time,” Yeri said, interrupting Wendy’s internal monologue.

“You won’t be ruining anyone’s time, Yeri,” Irene said, “Right Joy?”

Joy looked a little mad that she’d brought this on herself by setting up Yeri’s appointment for the same night they were going to the noraebang, but she agreed, “It’s cool, Yeri, don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” Yeri said shyly.

“Alright, let’s go eat,” Seulgi said.

 

-----

 

They parked themselves at a couple of picnic tables that were set up in the alley where the street food was, and divided the up snacks amongst them, ddeokbokki, kimbap, mandu and for “dessert,” hotteok with honey and nuts.  

“I was really hungry,” Irene said, “Want to try the mandu, Wendy?”

“Yeah, I’ll try one,” Wendy said, taking one to be polite.

Though she tried everything once, Wendy ate very little, she was lost inside her head again, and not even Joy’s loud mouth could be the anecdote. She laughed along with everyone and talked as much as she could, but Seulgi noticed the difference in the way she talked and laughed. She was aching from something Seulgi desperately wanted to fix, and though she’d promised not to press the issue with her, she decided to get Wendy away from everyone and ask her how she was doing.

This was just the beginning of the night, and if Wendy was feeling bad, she wanted to take her back home. Seulgi didn’t want to bring it up in front of the others, so she asked everyone if they wanted more soda and asked Wendy to tag along and help carry them.

 

-----

 

Seulgi held Wendy’s pinky finger with her own as they walked back to the stand for more drinks, it was a little childish, but Wendy smiled lightly and seemed to be fine with the contact.

“Is this okay?” Seulgi asked, squeezing Wendy’s finger with her own.

“Of course, it’s fine.”

“Are you still feeling poorly, baby? I mean I know…what I mean to say is…you’re not your usual self. You haven’t cracked a joke all night.”

Wendy looked up to Seulgi and sighed, realizing she was probably ruining everyone’s time, “I’m sorry, I know what you’re saying Seulgi-ah, it’s okay. I know I’m little less active tonight, but I didn’t think I was being that obvious.”

“I notice when even the slightest thing is off with you, your face tells me everything. I understand that something tough is going on, and we’ll figure it out, but do you want to be here right now? I can take you home right now. It was really selfish of me to bring you here and pretend you’re at ease. I just wanted to do something that would take your mind off things.”

“No, I want to be here right now, and I want to spend time with everyone, and you. This isn’t my style at all. I was really trying not to show it.”

“You sure you don’t want to opt out?”

“No, I want to be with you.”
 

“Okay, if it makes you feel  any better, I don’t think anyone else has noticed, I just wanted to check on you.  I want you to be comfortable, will you let me buy you something else to eat? You haven’t touched much of anything.”

“Now that you mention it, I am really hungry, I’ll eat some ddeokbokki when we get back,” Wendy said.

“Good, and forget about the leftovers, I’ll get you your own along with everyone’s drinks. I don’t like to see you like this, not eating, and overthinking everything.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be more of myself when we get back to the table.”

“You don’t have to fake it in front of me or our friends, I love you,” Seulgi leaned in and kissed Wendy, “I am desperate to know how you’re feeling and what’s going on. Tell me when you can, okay?”

“I will, all I know for now is that I need you with me, by my side. And that I love you too,” Wendy said.

“Wow,” Seulgi said.

“What?”

“I’ve never received a love confession in front of a ddeokbokki vendor before,” Seulgi said, swinging their linked fingers back and forth.

Wendy laughed, “Haha, very funny.” She leaned up slightly and kissed Seulgi again, then put her index finger to Seulgi’s lips, “These are mine later.”

Seulgi eyes lit up, “You got it.”

Wendy got chills from Seulgi’s exquisite look, “You’re so beautiful, Seulgi-ah, and you help me so much, I don’t thank you enough.”

“You’ve been taking care of me for years, and you still are. Every day you take care of me, I’ll always do the same for you.”

“Thanks, baby,” Wendy said.

“Food and drinks?”

“Yeah, let’s get them.”

 

-----

 

After they ate, they made their way across the main road and down the street that Seulgi’s favorite noraebang was on. Almost to their destination, Seulgi noticed another place that needed to be visited. Somewhere she had loved to go when she was a kid—and if she was honest, still went to every other week. She looked to Yeri who seemed excited that they had stopped in front of this particular store as well, her eyes lit up, but Seulgi could tell she didn’t want to appear overzealous to go into this particular place.

“Wen, do you mind if I go in this store?” Seulgi asked, taking the initiative for Yeri. Wendy, who had been busy speaking with Irene as they walked, looked up to see a brightly lit comic book store.  Seulgi’s eyes directed Wendy to look at Yeri. When Wendy saw her enthusiasm she smiled and nodded to Seulgi.

“No I don’t mind, go ahead.”

“Why are we going in a comic book store?” Joy asked, grumbly as always, “I’m ready for some music!”

Yeri looked down at her feet after Joy’s rebuff, the excitement fading.

“I need to pick up some new issues for my collection,” Seulgi said, “I’m a collector of comics, and not afraid to say so.”

Yerii’s smile returned at Seulgi’s words, and she looked up at the revelation that someone she knew actually liked comic books too.

“Oh,” Joy said, quickly changing her tune, “Then let’s go in.”

 

-----

 

Inside the store, Seulgi looked around for the issues that she actually did want—she hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she wanted to come in—Wendy stayed close to her, and read a graphic novel that had peaked her interest with its attention-grabbing cover.

“You really like comics, don’t you?” Wendy asked, genuinely curious.

“Yeah, they’re a lot of fun to read. Plus I have some pretty valuable pieces in my collection.”

“I’d like you to teach me all about it,” Wendy said, thumbing through the book, “I like some of the movies based on these but I’ve never researched a lot about them.”

“I’ll show you all my stuff at home, and I have most of the movies…and cartoons that go along with them,” Seulgi said quietly.

“I like cartoons too, Seulgi, I’m not judging you for that,” Wendy chuckled.

“Good, well then, did you find something you want to get?”

“Yeah, this seems pretty interesting; I think I’ll buy it. I wonder where Yeri went, you noticed right away that the store peaked her interests.”

“Yeah, she looked how I used to look coming to stores like this, I just want to help her find what she loves to do. Maybe it’s designing billboards and ads or maybe it’s illustrating a comic book, who knows.”

“For the record, you still have that look.”

“What?” Seulgi asked as she pulled a book from the shelf, her eyes focusing on it’s crisp pages.

“Hey, look at me,” Wendy said, smiling at the concentrating bear. Seulgi turned and Wendy went on, “You said you used to have the same look Yeri had when she saw the store, you still have that look.”

“That look of excitement and utter happiness to be around something precious to me?” Seulgi asked, “I had that same look when we came in here?”

“Yes, you have that same look a lot,” Wendy said.

“When?”

“It’s how you look when you look at me,” Wendy whispered, blushing and looking away from Seulgi.

“Oh, baby,” Seulgi said, putting the book on the shelf, and directing Wendy’s eyes towards her own, “You are precious to me.”

Seulgi leaned in, about to kiss Wendy, when they heard someone’s throat clearing.

Both turning at the sound, Irene had walked up and seemed to have a pretty impressive collection of books under her arm to purchase, “Sorry for interrupting.”

“It’s fine,” Wendy said.

“Yeri showed me all of her favorites, and recommended that I buy these,” Irene smiled, glancing at the massive stack of comic books under her arm, “You knew she liked comics, Seul?”

“No, it’s just when we walked in front of the store, her eyes lit up. I know that feeling.”

Wendy smirked.

“I bet you know that feeling,” Irene joked.

“Are you really going to buy all of that?” Wendy asked.

Irene chuckled, “If I’m going to be working with Yeri, it appears that I better be well-versed in comics and the like.”

“She may have you designing your own pretty soon,” Seulgi said.

“You may be right,” Irene said.

“if you need any help deciphering the stories, let me know, and I’ll give you a crash course in comics.”

“I’ll let you know if I need any help,” Irene said.

 

-----

 

Seulgi walked back to the SUV, and carefully stowed away their purchases from the comic book store. Finally they walked to the noraebang. Joy practically ran to the counter and rented a room for them.

“It’s time to get down to the business of having fun,” Joy said to everyone.

“Word of advice, Joy,” Irene said, “Never say that sentence again.”

Everyone laughed, but Joy only shrugged and didn’t make any promises.

The group had fun picking out songs to sing. Joy and Irene did a duet that had everyone laughing, Seulgi sang a song from the 90s, and they all decided that a group song was the most appropriate way to get into the spirit.

After an hour of going back and forth, they took a break, and Seulgi went out with Yeri to get everyone water and more soda. In the meantime, Joy and Wendy talked. Joy had been ragging Wendy the whole time they were there to get up and sing by herself.

“Make sure you pick out a good song, Wendy,” Joy said, “We need something to dance to.”

“I’m not sure if I want to sing tonight,” Wendy said, “I’m just along for the ride.”

“You’ve got to sing, Seulgi said you’re awesome, and I know we all want to hear you.”

“I’m not as good as I used to be,” Wendy said, trying to turn the attention away.

“Sure, look, get Seulgi to help you pick something out, we really do want to hear you by yourself.”

Wendy smiled at Joy’s insistence, “Alright, but it’s not going to be a dance or club song, sorry.”

“Fine,” Joy grumbled, then smiled because she had won.

 

-----

 

When Wendy’s solo turn arrived after another fifteen minutes of listening to Joy, she was reluctant to pick a song or to even sing at all, but everyone encouraged her, Yeri seemed especially excited to hear her new unnie’s voice. While everyone sat and talked, Seulgi pulled Wendy aside to help her pick out the perfect song for her voice.

Together with Seulgi she picked a ballad that they both knew would suit her vocals. She told Seulgi that it might put Joy to sleep, but her bear reassured her with a kiss on the cheek, “It doesn’t matter what Joy does, everyone else will be listening.”

She stood in front of everyone as nervous as she ever was when she was going on auditions. Her palms began to sweat and she feared she would drop the mic. When the song finally started, the intro coursed through the speakers, her cue arrived,  and she nervously began to sing.

 

-----

 

Joy quietly whispered to Irene and Yeri took a sip of her soda, but after they heard Wendy’s voice begin to rise with the music, no one was able speak a word or move.  They were all shocked by the sound that was emanating from her.

The ballad was over four minutes long, and Wendy sang with her eyes closed, not wanting to look at Seulgi or the rest of them in fear that she would grow nervous or even stop singing. Seulgi knew how good Wendy’s voice was, but the rest of their friends had never heard her. Wendy’s singing needed to be heard, and Wendy herself needed to be protected from anyone who told her she wasn’t good enough. Seulgi had been around for a few of Wendy’s last auditions and seen the pain she’d gone through, and not known how to help. Now, there was a different sort of pain, and Seulgi was up for that task. This time she would prove herself capable of seeing Wendy through the current storm.

 

-----

 

As the song continued on, there was nothing for anyone to do except listen to Wendy pour her heart out to them. As she sang, she thought about her situation at work, her love for Seulgi, and everything they had been through together.

When the song finally finished, and the last notes of the background music faded from the speakers, Wendy began to cry. Her tears contained sadness, and even elation. She had sung in front of a crowd again—though they were people she knew—and she hadn’t been chastised or sent away like she had at work today. The soft drops melted down her cheeks, and she stood with both hands folded over the mic like a prayer. It wasn’t a loud breakdown or a call for attention, just a release of emotions that Wendy had been craving to do all week long.

Not a single person, even Joy knew what to do when they saw the tears. They sat in stunned silence, afraid to break the special moment they’d just witnessed, Wendy pouring her heart out to them.

Yeri, who didn’t know what was going on attempted to clap for Wendy, but Irene grabbed her hands before she could do so, it felt as if doing so would break the magic.

Seulgi, who was just as shocked as everyone else, finally awoke from her spell and ran to her tearful Wendy.

“You did so well,” Seulgi said, hugging Wendy, “It was beautiful, no one is going to top that, so we might as well leave.”

Wendy looked up at her smiling Seulgi and laughed through tears, “We still have to hear Yeri, though.”

Yeri looked shocked, “I…there’s no way…what could I possibly sing to follow that?”

“Let’s all sing together again,” Seulgi suggested.

Wendy chuckled louder, “Good idea.”

Yeri breathed a sigh of relief.

 

-----

 

They all clattered and clanged into Mrs. Park’s convenience store before they went home, it was apparently time for a midnight snack, and they would not be denied. Mrs. Park got acquainted with Yeri, as she did with all her customers, and told her funny stories about the other four. Mrs. Park knew pretty much everyone in the neighborhood, and had for years.

She teased Seulgi about the umbrella-grilled cheese incident, and told everyone raucous stories of Joy’s late night visits to the store for milk to go in her cereal, or flour to make fried chicken. They told Mrs. Park about the song that Wendy had just sung, and how she’d blown them all away with her voice. Mrs. Park looked forward to hearing it and asked to be invited the next time they went to the noraebang.

Wendy had decided that the convenience store was their place to congregate, their safe place to be honest with one another. Even if it was just a moment, Mrs. Park always gave a kind words and sent each customer away feeling good. That was why this place was so special, it wasn’t just a convenience store. Now as they all stood together and laughed,  Wendy longed to tell everyone what was going on at work, but she waited, wanting to tell Seulgi first. That was important to her.

Wendy stood holding Seulgi’s hand and listened to the others chuckling at another funny story.. She realized as she saw the smiling eyes of Mrs. Park that she had never told them a single thing about her own life, but had listened to their incessant worries and tales every day for who knows how many years, many of Seulgi’s worries had been laid at Mrs. Park’s feet before she had even come back to Seoul probably. Wendy knew that when she stepped into Mrs. Park’s store that sound advice or encouragement would be offered, and maybe after she told Seulgi, she would come back and ask her opinion of her work situation.

After the last snack was consumed and the others had already headed out onto the sidewalk, Mrs. Park stopped Wendy, “Come talk to me soon, I want to hear about it, okay?”

Wendy nodded, and realized Mrs. Park had been thinking the same thing she had. Mrs. Park had read her like an open book and knew something was wrong. She felt comfort in knowing that this generous older lady was willing to listen and help in any way she could.

 

-----

 

Wendy collapsed on the bed, tired from her day and the energetic evening.

“I’m still not ready to talk yet,” she whispered to Seulgi, who had gone to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. She figured Seulgi couldn’t hear her.

Seulgi came out of the bathroom with her hair in a bun, face freshly washed, and nothing but a t-shirt on, “Okay, that’s alright. We need to get some rest anyway. You’ve had a long day, and I have a long one tomorrow.”

“You heard me?”

“Of course, my hearing is excellent,” Seulgi said, “Seriously though, it’s fine, we’ll talk tomorrow when I get out of the meeting.”

“The meeting with Yeri and Irene?”

“Yeah, do you think Yeri had a good time tonight?” Seulgi asked.

“Definitely, she was laughing practically the whole time,” Wendy replied, “I think she’s excited to be a part of something like your company.”

“I think so too.”

“She looked at everyone with admiration and fervor, she’ll do well.”

“She looked at you like that too, except when you told her to get up and sing after you, her face was frozen and panicky,” Seulgi said, laughing at the memory.

“I wasn’t actually going to make her do that,” Wendy said.

“I know, but she didn’t. Want to go change?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

When Wendy returned she crawled into bed with Seulgi and snuggled as close as she could, “I—“

“I know you’re not hiding from me, no need to explain.”

“It seems like I’m putting off facing reality by not telling you, and maybe I am,” Wendy said.

“Whatever happened, we’ll get through it together. Just dream tonight, and rest, and tomorrow we’ll face it.”

“Sleep, well, baby,” Wendy said, feeling comfort from Seulgi’s words.

“You too.”

 

===

 

 

2. Day

 

 

The next day, Yeri met up with Irene and Seulgi. She practically had the job already, but Seulgi needed to check her portfolio.

After looking through each page together, Irene and Seulgi went to have a chat in the lounge, leaving Yeri alone in the studio. When they returned, Yeri looked nervous again but Irene smiled and walked right up to her.

“I think we’re set,” Irene said, closing the portfolio.

“Really?” Yeri asked.

“Yeah, looks great,” Seulgi said, “Welcome to the team, officially.”

“Thank you, unnies, you won’t regret this, I’ll work hard.”

“We know you will,” Irene said, “And as I said last night we’ll work together. We’ll need to work out a schedule for you that won’t interfere with your classes.”

“Oh, my classes don’t resume until the fall, I’m off the rest of the summer except for this, so I should be all set to come into work whenever you need me.

“Good,” Irene said, “When your classes roll around again, we’ll work out the schedule then. In terms of everyday at the studio, I come in at 10:00 but on shoot days it just depends. We’ll play it by ear for the first week and let you get settled in.”

“Okay, when should I show up on Monday unnie?”

“Just come in at 10:00,” Irene said, “Seul, how should we work out a way for her to get in?”

“Will you take care of a key Yeri? If I give you one?”

“Of course, I’ll keep it safe.”

“Okay, just have an extra key made Irene, it’ll be fine.”

“Sure, okay Yeri, you can head out now, just come in at 10:00, casual dress is fine.”

“Thank you so much,” Yeri said.

“You deserve a chance after what happened at your other internship. You were treated unfairly, and didn’t get a chance to show your true talents. We all deserve that chance,” Seulgi said, the words she was speaking mirrored someone else she knew.

 

-----

 

Wendy sat on the couch eating popcorn, and watched a mind-numbing TV movie that made no sense.

When Seulgi walked through the door she was excited to see her.

“Did everything go well with Yeri?”

“Yeah,” Seulgi said, “Her portfolio and work is great.”

“Good,” come here and sit with me, “I’m…ready to tell you what happened. I’ve been thinking about it since you left.”

“Okay,” Seulgi sat down and listened intently.

“There’s no other way to say this, so I’ll just say it. They hired someone to work alongside me, someone who they said had less strings attached. I took it in stride until they called me into the office yesterday and told me I’d be helping train the new person. That means she’ll be taking over my job. It will be a slow process but eventually she’ll take over all my responsibilities. They want to move in a new direction, apparently. My ideas for the vocal program weren’t where they wanted to take their artists.”

Seulgi was raging inside, “Did you say anything back?”

“Of course, I told them that clearly my personal life was the real issue, and that I’ve never made it a part of my business life. I also told them that I would never sacrifice my relationship with you just to look good in front of visitors or shareholders

“What did they do?”

“Mrs. Shin said it had nothing to do with our relationship, although she did mention that my behavior at the party last week was subpar and not befitting someone who works at their company.  She told me to rethink my priorities and what the job means to me, then wished me well on my new quest to train someone who is taking my job away from me. We’re meeting again on Tuesday, and I’m a little scared what will happen.”

“Don’t be scared, baby.”

“I can’t help it, I’ve worked so hard, and now all that work is being pushed aside for someone who will toe the party line and not step out of imaginary boundaries that they have suddenly set for their company when you showed up to a party.”

“This is absurd, how is this not unethical practices.”

“It pretty much is, but there’s not much I can do about it, since it’s not technically about the party issue.”

“What are your options, did Mrs. Shin give you any?”

“She just said I should just make things right,” Wendy said.

“By breaking up with me, or what?”

“I don’t know, baby, probably, but I will never do that, you’re my choice.”

“Do you want me to come with you on Tuesday?” Seulgi asked, I can at least wait outside this time.”

“No, don’t you have a shoot on Tuesday?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Do the shoot, whatever happens I’m coming home to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, even though I’m frightened, I’m going to be brave in front of them, even if it means I have a breakdown later.”

Seulgi scooted closer and grabbed Wendy’s hand, “I know you don’t want to lose what you’ve worked for, but sometimes our choices are few and we have to make a new path. When we look back on what’s happened in our past, we can see how much stronger we’ve become. This trial, whatever it may be, whatever happens will mold you, even though you don’t see that now. I’m right here for you and I always will be.”

 

 

===

 

 

This is chapter 8! Once again I need to thank everyone who commented, subscribed, upvoted or simply read this story. It really means a lot to me, and I take a lot of inspiration and reassurance from all of it.

Chapter 9 is going to be a more mature chapter, so I wanted to go ahead and tell everyone reading chapter 8 that it will probably marked as mature and thusly be automatically put in another part of the seuldy/wenseul section. I’ll do this not just because of any particular scene in the next chapter—although there are some interesting scenes included—but because I feel the themes and dialogue may become more advanced than other chapters so far, and the following parts of the story will follow suit.

Anyway, thanks for reading and please look forward to 9! Let me know what you think.