"What if I wake her up?" Yerim whispered to the three girls who were eagerly pushing her into Seulgi's room.
"That's why you need to be quiet, now get going!" Joohyun scolded her quietly and Yerim groaned before turning back to Seulgi's room door.
She twisted the door knob slowly and quietly, opening the door and peeking her small head into the room before opening it fully and walking in. She looked at Seulgi who slept peacefully with her back turned to her. After taking a deep breath, she stood on her toe tips and tiptoed slowly towards Seulgi's desk, being careful of not waking her up. She quickly grabbed Seulgi's laptop and phone, pursing her lips as she saw the screen turning on because of the constant notifications. She turned around and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door and then turning to the other girls.
"She will find out anyway," Yerim then pointed out as she handed over the laptop and phone to Seungwan.
"Yes, but not now," Joohyun said and they all walked back to the living room.
"I really did not expect those news," Sooyoung commented as she sat down on the sofa, causing Joohyun to let out a light scoff.
"I did," she stated and crossed her arms.
"Nothing's confirmed yet, though." Yerim told the older member.
"But fans are already speculating," Seungwan added as she came back from her room. "I hid Seulgi's things in my closet, now we just need to distract her with board games or something."
"Did I hear board games?"
The girls all looked up to see a drowsy Seulgi, standing by the living room door as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I love board games," she yawned quietly and stretched her back before walking, or more like wobbling, to the sofa, dropping her body on the empty spot right between Joohyun and Sooyoung.
"Geez, how much did you drink last night?" Joohyun asked the hungover girl, remembering the amount of soju she had drunk last night as they celebrated the new year while the others only had one or two glasses.
Seulgi wasn't the type of person who drank out of pleasure, Joohyun knew Seulgi saw alcohol as a way out and knew that when she drank, she couldn't control herself. Seulgi was a heavy drinker and loved to drink until she passed out, and Joohyun had tried multiple times to stop her last night but she kept on insisting and telling her she was fine. Joohyun sighed as she knew something was bothering Seulgi because of the amount she drank, and the bewildering news was therefore not something Seulgi had to know about today.
"I'm fine," Seulgi groaned and buried herself in the pillows behind her. "I know I drank a lot, but honestly I've had worse hangovers."
"Well, maybe you should just rest today then," Seungwan suggested and Seulgi looked up tiredly at her.
"But I wanted to play board games," she pouted. "Where did we put the Monopoly?"
"You won't be able to play Monopoly for at least four hours like this," Yerim told her and grabbed the remote from the table in front of them. "Let's watch TV instead," she suggested and turned it on.
"Oh yeah!" Seulgi lit up, "let's watch Hwayugi! I missed the premiere last week."
"You missed it?" Sooyoung exclaimed, her eyes widened. "How do you miss the one and only Lee Seunggi?" she then asked, this time with a playful frown on her face.
"I'll turn it on, stop fighting." Yerim laughed as she browsed through the channels.
"NCT's Taeyong and a mysterio-"
Joohyun widened her eyes in panic and with the speed of light she reached for the remote in Yerim's hand and turned off the TV.
"Who wants to play Monopoly?" she then asked with an unsure smile and put the remote down on her lap, holding it tightly in case Seulgi would take it.
"What was that about?" Seulgi asked Joohyun, her eyebrows furrowed from confusion. "And what was the reporter saying about Taeyong?"
Seulgi stretched out her hand, reaching for the remote but Joohyun quickly stood up, the remote still in her hand. She averted her eyes to all the possible directions, not wanting to look Seulgi in the eye and tell her what was actually going on. Seulgi had enough worries already and this would just worsen everything.
Seulgi pressed her lips together as she tried to figure out why Joohyun was acting so weird. "Did something happen to Taeyong?" she then asked, turning to Seungwan, knowing she couldn't lie to her.
"I-I... I m-mean... Y-you know..." Seungwan stuttered, struggling to not tell Seulgi the truth about what was happening.
As if the hungover feeling went away with one second, Seulgi got up from the sofa and ran back to her room. She had told the the others about her small crush on Taeyong and they knew she cared about him and probably didn't want to worry her with whatever news there was about him. But Seulgi couldn't help the overthinking going on in her head. If the girls didn't tell her, did that mean something really terrible had happened? Did something happen after the show yesterday? Did the guys get in a car accident on the way home? Did they get in a fight with someone? Were they followed by a group of sasaengs?
Seulgi burst into her room and let out a helpless groan as she noticed her laptop wasn't on her writing desk. She rushed to her bedside table, opening the different drawers in hopes of finding her phone. "Shit," she cursed and slammed the drawers shut, knowing the girls had taken her phone as well.
She sat down on the floor and leaned back on her bed, sighing as she ran her hands through her hair. There were at least one hundred scenarios running through her head at the moment, one hundred terrible scenarios that could've happened to Taeyong. Was she worrying too much, maybe? The girls didn't seem too worried themselves, but it definitely was something serious if they hid it from her.
"We should just tell her," she heard Yerim argue from outside her room.
"Do you know how much this will affect her?" Joohyun argued back.
"She's going to find out anyway!"
"Yes, but now is not the time!"
"She's suspecting something already!"
Tired of hearing the two of them arguing, Seulgi stood up and walked to the door. As her hand touched the door knob she stopped for a moment and took a small breath of the air. She twisted the door knob and got met with eight eyes directly pointed at her. "What is going on?" she asked calmly and Joohyun crossed her arms, staying quiet.
"Tell her," Yerim strictly told her.
Joohyun rolled her eyes and reached for her phone in her back pocket. She typed a few things on it and handed the phone to Seulgi.
"Before I read it," Seulgi started and looked up at the girls. "How bad is it?"
"It depends on how you choose to take it," Sooyoung answered honestly and Seulgi nodded her head slowly.
"Does that mean I'm involved in it?" she asked them and they all nodded their heads.
A tired sigh escaped Seulgi's mouth, "at least he isn't hospitalized," she murmured and looked at the phone screen, scrolling through the multiple headlines on the news site.
[BREAKING] NCT's Taeyong spotted holding hands with a woman - Netizens suspect it isn't Red Velvet's Seulgi.
Seulgi took a deep breath as she clicked on the headline, seeing multiple pictures of Taeyong walking around the night market, holding hands with a masked girl.
"Who can that be?" she thought as she zoomed in on the picture, realising that the girl obviously wasn't her herself. She bit her lip as she thought deeply about who it could have been. And then it struck her.
"The necklace... That's why it looked so familiar.." she thought and went back to read the other headlines.
Is NCT's Taeyong cheating on Red Velvet's Seulgi?
"That's why she was so stern about me not liking him."
Red Velvet's Seulgi trends worldwide on Twitter with #JusticeForSeulgi and #BeStrong
SM Entertainments stocks goes down drastically after news about NCT's Taeyong cheating on Red Velvet's Seulgi.
NCT's Taeyong trends worldwide on Twitter with #CheaterOfTheYear and #TaeyongIsCancelled
Fans finds other pictures of NCT's Taeyong hugging the mysterious woman.
"But their dating ban... Why didn't she tell me? I thought we were best friends..."
SM Entertainment releases official statement about NCT's Taeyong and the mysterious girl.
"We have discussed the matter with Taeyong and can state that the woman on these pictures are one of Taeyong's close cousins. He is not cheating on Red Velvet's Seulgi and we can confirm that those two are still maintaining a healthy and stable relationship."
Seulgi scoffed at the statement and scrolled down to see the comments, mostly negative ones.
[+403, -13] Why do I not believe the statement?
[+746, -76] I didn't know we lived in Alabama?
[+1527, -305] Aishh, I believe they are more than "cousins" based on the pictures that were released. SM is just trying to cover it up.
[+106, -501] Why are all of you so sure that the girl isn't Taeyong's cousin and that it is his "side chick"? To me it just looks like they're best friends. SM clearly stated that both Taeyong and Seulgi are still together and in a healthy relationship. Stop jumping into conclusions, jeez.
[+948, -204] I've never seen him smile at Seulgi like that...
[+2547, -95] Those bastards are just lying to save their own asses. I don't think Seulgi had a say in this, she doesn't deserve to go through all of this. First all of the hate for dating Taeyong, all the hate from being seen as "lazy" and "talentless", and now she's cheated on. I hope she's okay and handling this situation well. Stay strong, Seulgi.
"Take it," Seulgi muttered as she handed the phone back to Joohyun. "I don't want to read anything more about it."
"Are you okay?" Joohyun asked her calmly.
"I'm fine," Seulgi assured them with a small smile.
"Seulgi.." Seungwan spoke. "You're not fine."
"Yes, I am fine. It's not like Taeyong and I were dating to begin with, he's allowed to have a girlfriend and I only developed a small crush that will probably go away sooner or later." Seulgi told them, not wanting them to worry about her too much.
"Seulgi, you're crying," Sooyoung pointed out and Seulgi raised one eyebrow.
"No, I'm not," she replied but felt her wet cheeks. "Shit," she thought. Why was she crying? Why was she crying? Why. Was. She. Crying?
"Trust me, I'm fine. I'm just shocked about the news, that's all." She reassured them and began walking back to the living room.
"Are you sure?" Joohyun asked her.
"Yes, I am sure. I just need to go out and get some fresh air. Where did you hide my phone?" she asked the girls.
"In my closet," Seungwan informed her and she went directly to Seungwan's room.
Seulgi opened the closet door and saw her laptop and phone laying on top of the folded sweatshirts. She grabbed her phone and unlocked it, pursing her lips as she saw the fourteen missed calls from Youngho, three missed calls from Jennie, seven missed calls from Taeyong and five missed calls from Jisoo. She scoffed as she saw Jisoo's name. "Some kind of best friend I have," she gritted her teeth and headed out to the living room.
"I'm heading out to the convenience store nearby, do you girls want anything?" she asked them as she went to the hallway and put on her boots and her winter jacket.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Joohyun asked her and Seulgi shook her head.
"I need fresh air and some personal space," she told the worried leader.
Joohyun nodded her head and watched Seulgi grab her bag and her keys. She knew Seulgi cared deeply about Taeyong and was really hurt by the news, it would probably have been the best to comfort Seulgi but she knew Seulgi needed some alone time at first before she needed support and comfort.
"Buy all the snacks and face masks you can find," Yerim yelled as she came running to the hallway. "Let's have a girls night in today," she then suggested with a smile.
Seulgi smiled at her best friends, what did she do in her past life that made her so lucky to be with people that understood her feelings and they way she needed to cope with different things? "Sheet masks or mud masks?"
"Mu-" Yerim tried to tell her but got interrupted by Sooyoung.
"Sheet masks!!"
"I'll buy both," Seulgi told them and opened the apartment door, sighing as she walked out and closed it. She took small, slow steps towards the elevators and processed everything that had happened in just fifteen minutes. Why was she feeling sad? Taeyong wasn't hers so she couldn't blame him for being with someone else. Why did she even care? Once in her life this person was someone she hated with her guts, and now she was crying about him... The irony...
"You have to get a grip of yourself, Seulgi," she mumbled and slapped her face gently. "Stop thinking about him, stop liking him, just stop."
She sighed as she waited for the elevator to reach the floor she was on. "If I hated him and didn't think about him before, I can do it again," she tried to cheer up herself. "I don't need a man, I don't need to be caught up in my work because of a ridiculous guy like him..."
Another sigh escaped her mouth as she realised what words were coming out as well. "What am I trying to do? I can't hate him..." she hopelessly told herself and crossed her arms. "I just have to ignore him from now on, maybe that will help this stupid crush to go away."
——————————————
Seulgi roamed around the convenience store and looked at the ramen shelf, her basket already full with all kinds of snacks, drinks, and face masks. She grabbed five random ramen packets and went to place the heavy basket on the pay desk.
"Are you celebrating the new year's today too?" the cashier asked her with a playful smile.
"I guess so," Seulgi laughed as she watched the cashier scan almost a hundred things from the basket. How much was this going to cost?
"Do you need anything else?" the cashier asked her and her lips turned into a thin line.
"Do I need it?" she thought and hesitated. "One would suit really well right now... But I stopped... But one..."
"She has everything she needs."
——————————————
"Bad boy down," Seulgi sang their new comeback song as she walked out of the elevator, one bag full with groceries in each hand. As she reached her dorm, she put one bag on the floor and fished for the keys in her pocket. She opened the door and grabbed the bag on the floor before walking in. As the closed the door the other girls came rushing to her with multiple questions.
"Did you buy sheet masks?"
"Did you buy mud masks?"
"Did you buy tom yum ramen?"
"Did they have banana milk?"
Seulgi put down the grocery bags and looked helplessly at them. She walked towards Seungwan who stood in the middle and hugged her tightly.
"Seul, are you okay?" Seungwan asked her and patted her back gently.
"I hate him," Seulgi croaked, feeling the big lump in her throat and as the other girls came to hug her she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I hate him, and I hate myself for hating him," she sobbed as the tears ran down her cheeks and soaked Seungwan's shoulder.
"It's okay, Seulgi," she heard Joohyun reassure her. "Don't hate yourself for not being able to control the emotions you're going through. It's natural."
"If I just hadn't given him a second chance and gotten to know him better I wouldn't stand here feeling sad about myself for not getting rid of this stupid crush and I wouldn't feel sad about not being the girl he likes. I don't want to feel sad about myself, who am I to care about his relationships anyway?" Seulgi told them and sobbed harder, feeling deeply disappointed in herself.
"Don't think like that, Seulgi," Seungwan told her and tightened the hug.
"You like Taeyong, of course you would feel sad about these news, it's only natural." Yerim explained to her and Sooyoung nodded her head in agreement.
"You don't have to hide your feelings, we won't judge you."
—————————————
"She has everything she needs."
Seulgi turned her head to the right and instantly felt like all the bad karma came at her at once. She took a small, deep breath and turned her head back to the cashier and smiled. "That would be all," she said.
"Alright, that would be 48.000 won." The cashier told her and she payed for the things with her card.
"The receite's in the bag, have a nice day," the cashier smiled and Seulgi gladly took the two grocery bags.
"You too," she smiled and turned to the right, meeting his chocolate brown eyes. She lowered her eyes and walked past him, but immediately felt his hand on her wrist. She made a face before turning back to him.
"What is it?" she asked him and he released his grip around her wrist.
"You didn't answer any of my calls," he spoke and put his hands in his pockets. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, and you? I read the articles..." She trailed off, knowing he had gotten tons of hate.
"It's fine, it's nothing compared to what you had to go through," he told her with a sad smile.
Seulgi bit her lower lip and looked down at the grocery bags in her hands. Not knowing what to do or say next.
"I'm sorry that I messed up. I didn't think I would get caught, I'm sorry." He apologized and she looked up at him with a small frown.
"You don't have to apologize to me, Taeyong." She reassured him. "Love is natural and it's just unfortunate that you experienced it during our fake relationship."
"Yeah.." he mumbled and scratched his nape.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" Seulgi then asked him, even though she knew the answer already.
A big smile appeared on Taeyong's lips as he thought about her. "It's Kim Chungha."