The Only One

A/N: 

Hello Shin!

Happy holidays! I hope 2021 has been kind to you so far (besides Binjin confirmation of course!). You wished for either Seri and Dan as best friends or having dooly as high school lovers. Initially, I struggled to come up with a plot for either but after several weeks of brainstorming, I finally decided to combine both of your prompts instead and came up with this. I hope you enjoy!

Wishing you the best year ahead!

-Jess <3

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"So what did you want to talk about?" Seo Dan asks as she and Seri take their seats in their favorite cafe. "You sounded so serious over the phone."

It's the first time the two childhood friends are able to meet this week as work took up much of their time. Seri had called Dan on Tuesday asking if the other businesswoman was free but with a new branch of her family's mall opening at the end of that week, Dan couldn't take the time off.

Now, it's the weekend and Dan's new mall opened without a hitch the day before. The two were finally free and decided to meet for coffee, Dan equally eager to see her friend yet concerned for the reasons for this meet-up.

"Did I?" Seri asks as she settles into her seat. "I didn't mean to worry you, Dani. I mean, it's probably nothing."

Dan shakes her head, "It's not nothing when you call me before eight in the morning asking to meet. You also said it's not that urgent or related to your company. That's why you agreed to wait until after the opening."

When a few minutes pass with Seri continuing to stare down at the latte in her hands, Dan takes it as her cue to prompt the other woman to open up. "Is this about Jeong Hyeok?"

Seri's eyes snap up to meet her friend's and gives her a tiny nod in affirmation.

"Did he hurt you?" Dan asks with a tinge of anger in her voice.

"No, no! Of course not!" Seri protests, waving her hand in front of her as if physically dispelling the notion that Ri Jeong Hyeok would ever hurt her. "You know he'd never do that, Dani."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Seri shrugs. "He seemed... off? He's been acting jittery since last week. He's often lost in thought and I actually manage to sneak up on him sometimes. You know he's not easy to surprise with that super hearing of his."

Seri's eyes take on a faraway look as she recalls just how different Jeong Hyeok had been that past week. It wasn't like he'd stop being attentive to her or felt like he loved her any less but she could still sense that he was holding back on something. When she'd finally asked if anything was bothering him, he only assured her that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. She didn't believe a word and that prompted her to finally give Dan a call and ask for another's perspective.

"I thought it was just stress from the orchestra since they did get a new conductor," she continues. "But he says the new guy is really good and is open to the other musicians' feedback so it can't be that."

A serious look comes over Dan's face. "Seri-yah, answer me honestly," she pauses. "Do you think Jeong Hyeok's cheating on you?"

Seri's eyes widen at the question before vehemently shaking her head. "No, never. You know him, Dani, he'd never, ever do that."

"Good," the mall owner smirks before taking a sip of her latte. "I didn't think so either but I wanted to cover all my bases."

"You've known him for years, do you really think he'd be capable of that?" Seri glares at her friend, a little offended on her boyfriend's behalf. "I trust him completely and you know how important loyalty is to him."