The waiting room was filled with stylists, coordinators, make-up artists, people with mics and headphones calling out orders, and other artists coming in and out to greet I SCREAM. One make-up artist was busy attending Wendy. They had to make sure she would look extra presentable since a lot of people would focus on her. Luna was checking the lyrics, Krystal was talking to a fellow celebrity, Joy was taking a nap, and Seulgi was just staring at her phone.

To: Bae

Wish me luck.

She waited for a reply but didn’t get any until one of the crew shouted they’d be on in 5 minutes. She huffed a sigh as she ditched her phone in her bag.

I SCREAM’s first music show performance was a success. For their comeback, they performed two songs. Although Wendy struggled a bit, the rest of them members did great. As always, there were a lot of Seulgi fans even though in the song they were promoting, she didn’t have any growling or screaming part.

Surprisingly, the members also saw some supporting banners for Wendy which helped the new member gain confidence on stage.

They finished with the music show and went on to another schedule. Hyoyeon drove them to a radio station for their guesting which ended around eleven in the evening.

Hyoyeon was now driving them back to their dorm, checking the members who were dead tired and asleep on their seats in the van from the rearview mirror. She quirked her eyebrow when she noticed one of them was awake and was focused on her phone.

“Not tired Seul?”

Seulgi only shook her head in response. Hyoyeon took it as a sign that she didn’t want to be disturbed, so she drove off in silence for the rest of the ride.

To: Bae

You home?

From: Bae

Yes.

To: Bae

You didn’t wish me luck earlier :(

From: Bae

Sorry, I had a class.

To: Bae

I can’t come to your place tonight. I have an early schedule tomorrow.

From: Bae

That’s okay.

To: Bae

You don’t miss me?

The van had already stopped outside their building and Seulgi was still waiting for that reply. Hyoyeon carefully woke the members up. They groggily went inside and up to their dorm room. It was just the start of their comeback promotion but it felt like they had been promoting for a year.

Wendy collapsed on her bed while Seulgi hurriedly went to change the moment the two entered their shared room.

“Are you going out?” Wendy asked tiredly. Her eyes were closed but she could hear and feel her roommate changing.

“Yeah.”

“Not afraid I’ll tell the others?”

“You won’t.”

“How sure are you?”

When Wendy didn’t hear a reply, she opened one eye to check if Seulgi was still in the room. She was. Wendy pushed herself up and stared at Seulgi who was now tying her shoelaces.

“We need to get up in four hours.” She reminded their lead guitarist.

“I’ll manage.”

“Do you do this often?”

Wendy didn’t hear a reply as she out and fell back on her bed. Seulgi glanced at her and chuckled before turning off the lights. She sneaked out of their dorm after making sure Hyoyeon already went home and the rest of the members were already knocked down like her roommate.

---

Joohyun was busy reading something related to a topic she’d been teaching in one of her dance classes. Final exams were already coming and she had to prepare a lot of things for her students. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock. She gasped in surprised since she wasn’t expecting anyone. Seulgi already texted her earlier that she wouldn’t be coming so she wondered who it was.

She pushed up her reading glasses and checked her visitor. When she peeked through the small hole, she could only see a drawing on a bond paper. It looked like a frowning emoji.

“Open up.” She heard the familiar demanding voice and grinned.

After unlocking and opening the door, she was suddenly engulfed in a tight embrace. She continued grinning as she felt the bond paper slip off from the hand of the person she was missing the whole day.

“Miss me that much?” Joohyun asked as she hugged Seulgi back. She only heard a hum and felt a kiss on her forehead before Seulgi let her go. "I thought you weren't coming."

"You didn't reply."

"Sorry, I was busy with work." Joohyun cupped Seulgi’s cheek and noticed the bags under eyes. “You need sleep.”

Seulgi nodded slowly, eyes starting to close.

“Go sleep, I’ll just finish something first.” Joohyun led Seulgi to her bedroom. “What time do you need to be up tomorrow?”

“3 AM.” Seulgi answered drowsily while pulling up the blankets.

The older girl watched her sleep for a few minutes before going